


where wildflowers grow

by katheneverwrites (mandolinearts)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Happy Ending, Illustrated, M/M, Summer Romance, The Whole Cast Is Here, and partly by my hatred of commercializaton of castle ruins, background Phichimetti, this is motivated partly by nostalgia, yuuri plays guitar that's all you need to know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandolinearts/pseuds/katheneverwrites
Summary: “August evenings are especially stricken with melancholy - as if the ghosts of all past summers came rushing to haunt my heart.“ - fromLetters of Summer Past---When Yuuri Katsuki, a high school senior, arrives at summer camp, he is fully prepared to take his mind off the looming decisions he has to make about his future. He is not at all prepared to come to terms with the fact that a businessman is planning to buy the castle ruin above the camp that has been an enormous part of Yuuri’s childhood and turn it into a tourist spectacle. He is even less prepared to meet a ghost named Viktor that has lived in said ruin for the last five hundred years.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 79
Kudos: 71





	1. I.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back and this time with a longer victuuri fic and illustrations! It's loosely based on a Czech musical ["Ať žijí duchové!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wVzVKRf0zQ) and also on my camp experience . It's completely written but will post as I get through the edits. Thank you to [aze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azraelyz/pseuds/Azraelyz) for beta'ing and cheering me on and to rae, viluš and ari for even more cheers. You guys keep me going, I love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English isn't my first language, please be kind. The first chapter contains a deus ex machina: It reveals the story of how Viktor became a ghost. Take care and I hope you enjoy it!

If this story was a fairytale, one could say that it happened in a kingdom behind seven mountains and seven rivers and that the only way to get there is by a bridge made of crystal. To our luck, it happens in a completely regular country somewhere in the middle of Europe, and you can get there by train.

Yuuri steps off said train about a week into August, the summer breeze blowing into his hair. The station is barely more than a platform and a sign announcing that he is indeed in Terenice, a town forgotten by everyone - Everyone but the tiny sports team Yuuri is a part of that organizes its summer camp in the woods nearby. He shuffles his enormous backpack on his shoulders, picks up his guitar, and trudges through the village in the sticky heat that announces an approaching storm. He would usually have arrived two days ago in Minako’s car, but alas, this summer seems to be full of weird things. His senior year of high school awaits him at the end of it, and that makes Yuuri more nervous than he’d like to admit.

He is just about to take a turn for the bridge and prepare himself for walking another few kilometers through the forest when a yell of his name draws his attention.

“Yuuri!” It’s Phichit. Yuuri turns around and sees his friend sitting in a canoe, holding himself to the riverbank by his paddle. He is smiling widely and waving at him with his free hand. “Come on, get in! There’s no way I’m letting you arrive without a grand entrance!”

Yuuri grins and hops down, luggage rattling around him. There are multiple ways to get to the camp – one of them is a ratty old street, another is a narrow pathway, but the most dramatic one is definetly by the river – it’s only about half an hour downstream from the village. With Phichits’s help, he arranges both his backpack and his guitar into the middle of the boat, then sits in the front. Phichit makes a big stroke, and they’re off.

“So, how’s summer?” his friend asks after they have set a steady paddling pace.

“It’s alright. I’ve been looking forward to coming here since it started, though. You?”

“Same as you. We’ve been here every year since first grade, I can’t imagine a summer without it,” Phichit says, and it’s true. The camp has been a great portion of their childhood – even if it’s just two weeks in August, it feels a lot longer. They know every nook and cranny, every tree and every rock, and have climbed all the hills surrounding the river at least three times. It feels like coming home – because it always stays the same.

Yuuri wiggles happily in his seat, and the canoe rocks with it. “I can’t wait. Has Minako given us teams yet?” Since both Yuuri and Phichit are a good deal older than the rest of the kids, Minako, the leader of the sports club and the organizer of the camp, has given them the responsibility of entertaining their younger friends in the afternoons – in exchange for not having to pay for their stay or food. Yuuri and Phichit both jumped at the opportunity.

“She has. You’ve got Yura, Emil, Sara, Minami and the triplets. I’ve got Mickey, Mila, Georgi, Leo and Guang-Hong,” Phichit counts on his fingers, forgetting to paddle and making the canoe spin around. They manage to straighten it after a moment of confusion, but Yuuri still reaches and pats his guitar reassuringly. A drowned guitar is pretty useless.

“Thank god that Mickey and Sara aren’t in the same team this year. Hopefully, Mickey will be able to recover,” Yuuri muses. “Did anything else happen that I should know but don’t because I never read Minako’s emails?”

Phichit starts to say something, but Yuuri shushes him, because they are just about around the last riverbend. The valley of the river, high and rocky until now, suddenly opens. On the left side, the bank rises slowly to the edge of the forest, and the small and bigger buildings of camp can be seen in the distance. Yuuri can make out some tiny figures milling about, and his heart grows warm. He’s missed this so much.

He turns his head to the other side, where the valley still rises steeply about two hundred meters above the river, and up there, directly opposite the camp, towers a castle.

It’s more like a ruin, but it is the castle of Yuuri's childhood. One desolate stone wall still covers the inner parts, and a lone tower looks over the surrounding area, with a gothic shaped window on both sides. In the middle ages, it was used to guard this part of the river, but now it serves as a playground for kids and the nesting place for quite a lot of birds. The official name has been ditched by Yuuri and his friends in favor of calling it “Versailles”, “Balmoral”, “The Pyramid” and others, depending on what part of history they were obsessed with at the moment.

“Yuuri, are you even listening to me,” Phichit grumbles, splashing him with water and dragging Yuuri out of his soft homesick reverie with a start.

“Sorry Phichit, I was daydreaming. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that Minako told us some bad news yesterday.”

“What happened?” Yuuri turns around, trying to keep listening and paddling at the same time.

“Someone wants to buy the castle.”

Reality doesn’t register with Yuuri for a few moments. Then it suddenly hits him full force. “What? Why?”

“Keep paddling, Yuuri, we’re losing direction again. And I have no idea. Minako said he’s a wealthy investor who is aiming to make the castle a tourist attraction of this area,” Phichit says somberly. “I think he just wants to make money off the entry fees.”

Yuuri is silent – he feels like the canoe has capsized and he is now floating in the murky waters of the river. “What the hell,” he mumbles after a long minute. “What the hell!”

“Yeah, that was my reaction too.”

“Isn’t there any way to stop this from happening?”

“I doubt it. Apparently, the town would be more than happy to sell it, and the archeologists have a dozen more guard castle ruins in the country to dig from.”

“That is so not fair.”

They are almost at the landing, and Yuuri can already see some of the campers running across the grass from the dining house to greet them. It is a grand entrance indeed, but he can’t bring himself to be so enthusiastic about it after the news he’s just received. He looks up, the castle he liked to call “theirs” looming above him as always. He loves this place so much because it never changed – until now.

“Yuuri! Phichit! Yuuri is here!!!” someone yells, and Yuuri smiles, despite himself. Some things are luckily still the same.

The water is cold when he and Phichit drag the canoe ashore, the kids yelling around them. Yuuri gets a hug from almost everyone – even little Yura runs at him with outstretched arms and asks to be spun around. Phichit helps him haul his backpack and guitar to their shared cabin, and Yuuri even sees a glimpse of Minako when he goes to get his bedsheets. He wants to ask her about the castle, but he supposes she will tell him sooner or later anyway, so he resolves to not pester about it.

The air is thick, and the storm clouds are hovering on the horizon.

\---

Yuuri spends the afternoon unpacking and catching up with friends. All the kids come to visit him at the cabin to tell him about their summer and to show off their new skills (Mila can do a cartwheel now, oh no). He puts his clothes away quickly in-between cheering her on and making sure no one else tries it. The books that he brought with him lie at the very bottom of his backpack, and Yuuri eyes them with silent contempt.

When he was smaller, he used to bring all kinds of adventure books to camp and then excitedly explain them to Phichit, Chris, Yuuko and Takeshi over the campfire. He would animatedly describe the tales about brave knights, sneaky rangers, cowboys who never missed a shot, and Egyptian princesses who killed their husbands in their sleep. His friends listened attentively and would sometimes even dramatically reenact moments from the stories (Phichit and Chris got together after Phichit played Patrocles’s death so skillfully Chris actually started crying).

This year is different. Inorganic Chemistry and The Biology of Mammals return his accusing glare. If he wants to get into the top university, he has to start preparing early. And most importantly, he has to _grow up_ and decide _what is it_ that he wants to study.

Yuuri shakes his head and, lifting up the textbooks a little, pulls out an old, worn copy of The Wee Free Men by Terry Prattchet. It’s summer, after all. He will panic later. He leaves Chemistry and Biology in the bag and puts the book on the small bedside table. It is soon joined by a notebook with yellow pages, a small pencil case, and Yuuri’s personal collection of lyrics and chords for his favourite songs. The guitar goes in the corner, waiting for its moment of fame.

There’s yelling outside and Yuuri shoves the almost empty backpack under the bed and walks out on the porch. It’s almost dinnertime, and the sky has gotten an even darker blue because of the coming rain. The air is thick with it and it’s hard to breathe, so he ducks back inside to grab his windbreaker, before heading towards the dining building.

At dinner, Phichit appears out of nowhere, Chris right behind him. The other kids are chatting excitedly and shoving food everywhere.

“Yuuri! What have you prepared for the little bastards this year?” Chris asks, draping himself over Yuuri’s chair dramatically.

Yuuri smiles. “I’m glad to see you too, Chris. How are the others?”

“Yuuko and Takeshi? You know them, probably already preparing tomorrow's program. They’re much more responsible than, for example, _me_.” Chris chuckles, finally sitting down, and Phichit almost chokes on his food next to him.

The day at camp is usually split into two parts – in the morning, everyone participates in the various sports the camp provides – kayaking, tennis, badminton, orienteering, gymnastics, and more. Yuuko and Takeshi, who are three years older than Yuuri, Chris and Phichit, usually organize those. The afternoon is for games and stories, and that’s Yuuri and Phichit’s responsibility. Chris is supposed to help Minako with the organization of the whole thing, but everyone suspects that she just wants him to be near her so he doesn’t get in too much trouble.

“Come on, Yuuri. I know you said the theme this year is ghosts, but we want more details!” Phichit whines.

“You’ll get them in due time. Be patient,” Yuuri grins, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Once everyone has eaten and the dishes have been passed off to the kitchen staff, Minako suddenly appears. She stands in front of the whole sports team, hands clasped behind her back. Yuuri begrudgingly makes his way next to her, because unfortunately, being a camp counselor also means public speaking, even if your audience consists of kids.

“Welcome to camp, everyone!” Minako begins, “Those of you who have been here before, help the small ones and show them around.” She nods encouragingly at Yuuri, beckoning him to speak. He steps forward and puts on his best storyteller face.

“Is anyone here afraid of ghosts?”

A few of the kids flinch, but no one raises their hand. Yuuri continues, putting his hand under his chin for extra dramatic effect, “Good. Have you been to the castle on the other side of the river yet?” Sara, Mickey, Georgi and Emil smile and nod, clearly proud of themselves. “And did you know that I’ve been told we have a ghost there? A real, true ghost?” he puts in all of his acting skills, trying his best to look and sound like a character in a teen mystery movie. He needs the kids to believe his little lie.

Mila sticks her tongue out at him. “That’s not true! Ghosts aren’t real!”

Yuuri tries his best to look completely serious. “But this one apparently is.”

“Prove it!” yells Emil.

Exactly where I want them, Yuuri thinks. “Well then, there’s only one way to find out, is there?” he says aloud and points out the window to the castle. “Who’s with me?”

The storm that has been preparing for the whole day decides to help Yuuri out in the best way – because just as the whole group looks out towards the menacing silhouette of the castle, a loud crack of thunder shakes the building and rain starts pouring from the skies.

“Is- is it really safe to go out there now? In the storm?” says Guang Hong, a bright-eyed boy hiding behind Phichit’s arm.

Yuuri smiles devilishly, “We’re not going to go now. The rain will stop by the time it’s properly dark.”

Guang Hong goes even paler than he was before. “We’re going in the night?”

“Of course! It wouldn’t be as fun in daylight, don’t you think?” The scared but determined faces of the kids tell him that he’s done a good job at introduction. Now all that’s left to do is wait and let their imagination run wild.

\--- 

The kids stay in the dining building, sitting around the tables and chatting, making up conspiracy theories that would put flat earthers to shame. Yuuri lets Phichit and Chris in on his plans – they’re very enthusiastic to help him, Chris especially so. He quietly disappears from the place afterwards, citing a need to use the restroom.

After a while, the storm passes, and all that’s left is damp grass and dark clouds over the night sky. Yuuri leads the kids towards the landing, sits them all into boats and with Phichit’s help, they paddle across the river. On the other side, they tie the boats to tree stumps and take the narrow uphill path between the trees. Most of the kids are quiet now, only occasionally whispering. Mila is holding Yura’s hand, dragging him along (He’s the youngest now – the triplets, barely three years old, fell asleep right after dinner).

Once they manage to climb the hill, the forest gives way to fields and the occasional bushes, the castle towering right in front of them. The kids follow Yuuri quietly, so different from their usual rowdy nature.

Yuuri himself is awestruck, as always. He passes through the jagged gate of the ruin, and observes the weeds that have grown in cracks of the stone since last year. There are holes in the old wall around the courtyard, and the place itself is dusty and dark, shadowed by the lone tower that stands in one corner of it. This is his home, how dare anyone think they can buy it and make people pay to enter?

He shakes his head and herds the kids into the middle of the courtyard, Phichit counting them to make sure they didn’t forget anyone along the way.

“So, do you want to know why we have this ghost here?” Yuuri whispers, dragging the attention to him. Most of the kids nod or whisper a quiet “Yes,” and Phichit smiles at him, his eyes glinting with amusement. Yuuri gathers courage, breathes in, and begins.

“A long, long time ago, back when there were princesses and princes and kings and queens, this castle was used to guard the land. It was also near a frequented merchant road, and sometimes travelers stopped there to sleep and eat. Once, a peculiar traveler banged on the castle doors long into the night. The knight that was on guard opened the gate and was surprised to see a young man with a cane and a dark cloak was standing outside. The people here were kind and trusting - so the knight led the stranger to the dining halls, offering him food and drink,” Yuuri pauses dramatically, making sure everyone’s eyes are on him. “When the man took off his cloak, everyone in the hall was awestruck – they have never seen anyone so beautiful. Long hair spun like fine silk, piercing blue eyes, taller than all the knights!”

The kids “ooh” and “aah” at his description, and Yuuri continues. “He introduced himself as Prince Viktor of the Kiev Rus and revealed that he is on the run from an unwanted marriage that his family is trying to force him into. The ladies immediately empathized with him and convinced the constable of the castle to let Viktor stay for a while.

“The prince proved himself well versed in many things, from strategy to sewing, from fencing to map-making. The constable grew to like him and didn’t want him to go away, so Viktor stayed, becoming beloved in the surrounding villages as well. Of course, the story of a beautiful and capable man helping out at a castle in the middle of nowhere spread far and wide, and rumors even reached the Kiev Rus. The prince’s father was enraged, and sent spies into the country, ordering them to bring the prince back at all costs. The spies played into the constable’s good graces and disguised as merchants, were invited to dine with everyone in the castle. There they saw the prince, laughing and chatting with everyone, and sneakily planned their kidnapping.

“Under the cover of the night, they snuck into the prince’s chambers and tried to execute their plan. Before they could, the prince woke up and realized what was happening. He resisted the best he could, but after years without needing to fight, he was outmatched against two trained spies. In the moment when he was sure of his defeat, Viktor yelled that he’d rather be a dead man and a ghost than go back home and get married to someone he did not love.” Some of the kids are tearing up by now, and Yuuri admittedly did too when he first read the story. The wind blows through the empty castle, making strange noises. Yuuri continues on:

“The fight caused a ruckus, and soon the knights and the constable came to Viktor’s help, realizing the betrayal of the merchants. But what they found when they opened the door was most peculiar. The two spies were standing in the room alone, ropes thrown about – and the prince was nowhere in sight. The only things left of him were burning letters in the wall, which said ‘I will stay here and protect this castle until my true love finds me. Get lost, fools!’

“The spies had to return to the king with empty hands. And the ghost of prince Viktor stayed in his beloved castle, protecting it from intruders and helping out his inhabitants. Some say that he’s still here now, watching us and making sure that we don’t cause any evil…” Yuuri trails off, watching the kids and their pale faces in the moonlight that streams through the clouds.

Of course, the older ones are suspicious. Sara cocks her hip, playing with one of her braids. “That’s made up. There are no ghosts here.”

“Yeah,” Emil agrees. “Scientifically speaking, ghosts don’t exist.”

“Don’t exist!” echoes Mila.

“Well,” says Phichit, handing her a piece of chalk. “If you’re so sure, why don’t you and Emil take the steps down into the dungeon under the tower and sign your names there. That way you’ll prove there is no ghost, and also show us your bravery. Me and Yuuri did it when we were your age.”(They did. Their names, written in wonky Latin alphabet along with their native writing systems, are still proudly sitting on that dungeon wall. It was one of the most terrifying nights of Yuuri’s life.)

Mila eyes the chalk, then Emil. She nods resolutely, snags the chalk from Phichit’s hand, and makes her way towards the tower. When Emil doesn’t follow immediately, she turns and eyes him suspiciously. “Come on, scared already?”

Emil shrugs. “The upper half wants to go, but the lower half doesn’t…”

Mila grabs his hand and drags him along. “Let’s show them what we’re made of. Imaginary ghosts are no match for me.”

The two of them disappear into the darkness, leaving the rest of the group in complete and utter silence. Phichit walks over to Yuuri and nudges his side. “Nice story.”

“Thanks.” Yuuri smiles.

“Chris is going to have a field day scaring these two,” his friend whispers, as not to be overheard. “You’re brilliant.” (Back then, it was Takeshi in a bedsheet scaring little Phichit and Yuuri. They were so terrified they almost capsized the canoe in their rush to get away)

Yuuri wants to say something, but Yura comes to him and clutches at his jacket, clearly scared, so the two of them shut up and just grin quietly into the night. The other kids huddle around them too. Mickey and Georgi try to start complaining, but Sara shushes them. Leo, Guang Hong and Minami end up crouched on the ground, trying to make flower crowns out of grass, throwing uneasy looks at the silent and dark tower above them.

All of sudden, there’s a scream.

It’s a high pitched one, but quite loud. “Was that Chris? Oh my god,” Phichit whispers.

“Do you think they scared him instead of him scaring them?” Yuuri says quietly back.

“We need to go save them from the ghost!” yells Yura, grasping Yuuri’s hand and tugging him towards the door. The rest of the group follow behind them, barging into the tower in a loud crash. They sprint down the steps into the dungeon, tripping in the darkness.

When Yuuri’s eyes finally adjust to the complete darkness inside, he almost screams too.

He stands at the bottom of the steps, the surrounding area bathed in shades of dark grey and black. The kids and Phichit are behind him and Yura is still clutching his hand in a death grip. On the side of the room, there’s a tall person in a bedsheet, holding two smaller people by their hands. Chris, Emil and Mila, Yuuri deducts.

But what lies at the center of his attention is the writing on the wall opposite the steps. There’s the faded “Yuuri” and “Phichit” from years ago, and an “Emil” and “Mila” right under it, but high above that, almost near the ceiling, there appears a new line – as if written in fluorescent chalk, it glows with white light and burns Yuuri’s eyes.

THE ONLY GHOST AROUND HERE IS _ME_ , YOU FOOLS.

When Yuuri blinks again, the writing starts burning, and it lights up the whole dungeon. In the shadows near the far end of the room, he swears he sees a figure standing, long braid around their shoulder and sword at their hip.

“Huh,” Yuuri says. He doesn’t remember much after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Kiev Rus would have long fallen by the 13th-15th century. please suspend your disbelief for this one.


	2. II.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is a ghost, a deer, and a new friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shout out to aze for beta'ing and being lovely 💙 and to viluš, rae and ari for being amazing 💕 what would i do without you guys!

Obviously, they run.

Yuuri knows that at some point he picks Yura up and carries him. At some point, they paddle across the river back to camp. At some point he acts like the responsible adult he’s supposed to be and calms all the kids down and makes them go to bed with a promise of explanation.

After all of that, he and Phichit and Chris sit down at the front steps to their cabin and collectively whisper “What the fuck”.

A while passes, the night chill seeping into their bones. They continue staring ahead, into few trees that separate them from the view of the castle. Half an hour of silence later, Yuuri can’t hold it in anymore. “Was it a ghost?” He says, out loud, because he kind of wants to make sure he isn’t dreaming.

Chris puts the bedsheet over his head, his voice muffled: “If it wasn’t, I really want to know what kind of drugs am I on.”

Yuuri bends forward, head between his knees. He plays with the weeds growing in the cracks of the tile of the stairs idly, completely detached from reality. “It was a ghost.”

“Ghost of prince Viktor,” whispers Phichit, who has been oddly silent this whole time. “You probably angered it by pretending to be him.”

“Where did you get that from? Did you watch too many episodes of Buzzfeed Unsolved?” Chris snickers into the bedsheet.

“No, think about it. If I were a five-century old ghost who protected the castle from intruders, I would be mad if someone told my story and then a lame dude in a bedsheet pretended to be me.” Phichit shrugs, lying back against the door. “That would explain why it didn’t reveal itself to us before. We simply never knew about Viktor, and we didn’t do the castle any harm. I think the ghost is just being a bit petty and dramatic if you ask me.”

“That… actually makes sense,” says Yuuri, sitting upright again. “I only found out about that legend this year.”

“You’re way too chill about this, Phichit,” mumbles Chris.

“I’m just trying to reason my way out of a full-blown mental breakdown.”

“Fair enough.”

They’re quiet for a bit again. The wind rustles in the trees, and the cicadas make _the noise that cicadas make_.

“What are we going to do?” asks Chris, breaking the silence again.

Yuuri stands in lieu of a response, yawning. “I,” he jabs a finger into his own chest, “am going to sleep.”

Despite his wishes, Yuuri doesn’t sleep well. He tosses and turns and stares at the ceiling, imagining the burning letters being written over and over again, a pair of piercing blue eyes watching him from just outside the window. At some point during the night, he has to use the restroom, and he doesn’t dare turn his head towards the castle and the river the entire way there and back.

Morning comes, the alarm sounds, and he almost falls off his bed in the haste to turn the incriminating device off. At breakfast, he feels like a zombie, and the only consolation is that everyone else looks like one too. No one has dared to tell Minako yet, but Yuuri is sure that she’ll know before lunch. Little kids will spill anything if you prod them long enough, the traitors. Yuuri silently wonders about his camp counselor future over a mouthful of cereal - ‘Scared the kids to death because they met an actual ghost’ isn’t something one puts on their resume willingly.

While Yuuko and Takeshi whisk the kids away to prepare for the morning’s sports activities, Yuuri, Phichit, and Chris wander the campgrounds. It’s how Minako herself finds them, staring them down and marching over like a general at the battlefield. Phichit clutches Yuuri’s arm absent-mindedly and Chris looks like he just ate a raw slice of garlic.

Minako comes up to them, but instead of firing them all on the spot and lecturing them, smiles. “A little bird told me about what you orchestrated yesterday at the castle.”

Yuuri stiffens, and Chris mumbles something about Georgi the traitor while she continues: “The kids are still plenty scared. No idea how you did it, but good job, you three. Keep it up.”

Stunned, Phichit mutters a “Thank you?”

“Minako, is there any news about that guy who wants to buy the castle?” asks Yuuri to draw the attention away from the definetly – not – an – imaginary ghost.

“Not much,” she shrugs, shoulders visibly slumping. “Apparently some kind of reality agent will come by this week to approve the price, and then the man himself will come to visit before signing the contract. The mayor of Terenice seemed to be way too excited about the money; I honestly doubt that all the proceeds will go towards public infrastructure as he claims.”

They all collectively sigh at the bleak future, before Minako smirks at them, pestering them to go participate in the sports with other kids. Then she turns on her heel and strides away.

“She thinks that the burning writing and all that was us, holy smokes,” declares Phichit into the resounding silence.

“Let’s just go to the sports game. I don’t want her to question me,” says Chris. The three of them stand, but instead of following his friends, Yuuri turns away and makes his way towards the landing.

“You guys go. I want to take a second look at that ghost.”

“Are you mad, Yuuri?”

“Just let him go, Phichit. I’ll take good care of your guitar if you die, Yuuri. I promise.”

“Don’t you _dare_ touch it!” yells Yuuri from where he’s dragging a canoe out on the water. “ _I will_ come back and haunt you!”

“Good luck with that.”

His friends out of sight, Yuuri quickly picks up a paddle, determined eyes set on the castle above him. It doesn’t look all that mighty and scary in the daylight, but who knows. He’s got a swiss army knife in his pocket today (Minako gave it to him when he turned twelve). It might not work on ghosts, but it makes him feel a bit less like a fool.

He’s about to step into the boat when he feels a touch on his pant leg. Turning around, he’s startled by the sight of little Yura, staring him down with his signature green gaze.

“Yura, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the games?” Yuuri asks, trying to keep his cool.

“Shouldn’t you be there too?”

“Well – I thought I’d go take a look at the ghost in the castle…” he somehow completely forgets to lie.

“Can I go with you?”

“What? No! – I mean, aren’t you scared of ghosts?”

“If you’re there, I’m not scared of anything,” says the boy resolutely. Yuuri doesn’t know what brought this on, but he’s oddly flattered, so he doesn’t question it.

“Well then, let’s go,” he sighs, picking Yura up and sitting him down in the front seat of the canoe. He hopes Minako won’t be mad at them.(But then again, Minako has witnessed Yuuri do far worse things – from climbing on the roof of a cabin in order to play online Minecraft to trying to adopt a wild poisonous snake. And she’ll even be glad that Yura is making friends and taking initiative, even if it’s an interest in ghost hunting.)

Just like yesterday, they tie the boat to a tree stump on the other side of the river and then make their way uphill. There are tracks in the mud, evidence of their panicked flight the night before. Yura is quiet, focused on the trail, and only brightens up when they emerge from the tree line. Now, in the daylight, the view from up here is far and wide. They can see the camp, the hills, and the forest behind it, and even catch a glimpse of the church tower in Terenice. The breeze rustles their hair, and Yuuri feels like he’s eight years old again and climbed this path up for the first time.

Yura is a bit reserved as they near the castle but trudges on through the weeds and overgrown blackberry bushes. Yuuri is on the lookout for the ghost, but he doubts that he’ll see anything – If he managed to not see it for years, surely the ghost must have some camouflage techniques.

It occurs to him, as they take the steps down into the dungeon, the flashlight on Yuuri’s phone leading their way, that he’s oddly at peace with the prospect of ghosts existing. Maybe it is a result of an upcoming panic attack, maybe it’s the fact that he has kind of always associated this place with the fantasy land of his dreams, or maybe the writing on the wall is just too much of a solid evidence to ignore. But then again, Yura must be half-convinced that it was Chris in a bedsheet who caused all of this, so maybe that’s why the boy is calmer.

No matter how the two of them perceive it, the writing is still there. It’s charred like it was actually burned into the wall. Shivers run down Yuuri’s spine at the thought. He crosses the room, and stepping towards it, tries touching or smearing it, but with no luck.

“Uh, Yuuri…” he hears Yura say behind him, voice small.

“What is it?” he turns to his friend, but sees him pointing at something on the other side of the room. Yuuri’s eyes follow the line of his finger, and _there it is_.

On the steps to the dungeon floats a sword in mid-air, as if being held by an invisible hand. Yuuri gapes at the sight, but his reflexes catch up to him faster than ever. He pulls out the pocket knife and brandishes it, even if it looks a bit silly compared to the floating weapon opposite him. He takes a step forward, positioning himself between the sword and Yura. Like this, he feels a bit more confident in himself; or at least confident enough to ask: “Who are you?”

The voice that answers him feels like it's reverberating through the walls. It makes a sound like a chuckle. “I think you know already, squire.”

Yuuri isn’t very fond of being called a medieval servant. “I’m not a squire, Mr. floating sword. I’m Katsuki Yuuri. I would love to shake your hand, but it seems that you are invisible.”

“I don’t show myself to just anyone, Katsuki of house Yuuri. Especially not to peasants who disrespect my castle and my person by pretending to be me.” The voice hesitates for a moment, then continues, the floating sword lowered. “Though I must admit that your storytelling skills are quite decent. Have you considered becoming a bard?”

“I apologize on behalf of everyone who disrespected you. It was my idea, and to be honest, I did not believe in ghosts until yesterday.” Yuuri decides to be straightforward, kind of offended at the bard comment. He always thought of himself as more of a Geralt than a Jaskier. “Please show yourself, because I feel really stupid talking to a sword.”

The voice sighs, and the sword disappears. “I suppose I can’t blame you for not believing in ghosts. If you and your pageboy want to see me, come to the courtyard, Katsuki of house Yuuri.”

“He’s not my-“ Yuuri gives up and just holds Yura’s hand instead, leading them up the steps from the dungeon. The two of them exchange excited looks.

The sunlight blinds them for a moment, but then Yuuri’s eyes adjust, and he _stares._ The courtyard stretches out before them, grass and weed and bush, and on the opposite side, leaning against one of the walls, stands the ghost of prince Viktor.

The first thing that registers with Yuuri is that the chronicle books did not lie when they said that the prince was very pretty. He looks like a young man, barely Yuuri’s age. His hair is liquid silver spun in an elegant braid, strands on the side of his face loose and blowing in the wind. Eyes, indeed blue like the deepest oceans, stare Yuuri down with a mischievous glint. The prince’s mouth curls in an amused smirk. His clothes are, Yuuri has no other word for it, clearly medieval. A long-sleeved tunic and something that must be a doublet, both in a light blue color.

“Do you intend to keep gawking at me for the rest of eternity, Katsuki of house Yuuri?” Prince Viktor says suddenly, and pushing off the wall, makes his way towards them. Yuuri continues staring but manages to snap himself out of his trance and slowly walks to an old fallen tree, where he sits himself and Yura on the trunk.

“Katsuki is the surname - Please just call me Yuuri,” he says. “This is Yura, he’s my friend.” Yura glares at the prince, then mutters a “Good morning,” and promptly goes silent again, leaving Yuuri to do the talking.

“Nice to meet you, Yura and Yuuri. My name is prince Viktor of castle Terenice, formerly of the land of Kiev Rus.” The prince sits himself on the remnants of a wall opposite them. “I know you, Yuuri. Time passes differently when you’re like me, but I’m sure I have seen you before,” he eyes Yuuri with a smile.

“I come here every summer for a sports camp,” Yuuri explains, hoping that the prince understands the words. “I spent a lot of time here in the castle. It is a very peaceful place, and I love it a lot.”

“You’re the boy who has been coming with all kinds of books, aren’t you? I read them over your shoulder.”

“You… what?” Yuuri is mortified. He used to bring adventure books with him when running away to the castle. He’d read Karl May, Arthur Ransome, and John Flanagan and pretend to be braver and less anxious. The idea that prince Viktor saw him do all that embarrassing teenage stuff is more terrifying than anything else surrounding the ghost.

“I liked to read your books when you weren’t looking. They’re truly exciting. Say quite a lot about the world around us. I never knew that the land of America existed! Or the land of Araluen!”

“Only America exists,” mumbles Yuuri. “Araluen is made up.”

“And where is America? To the east, where the Mongol raids come from? Or over the edge of the world?”

“There is so much wrong in that sentence, oh hell.”

“The world is round, you sparkly sword man,” says Yuri suddenly. “The world is like a big apple. And we’re on one side, and America is on the other,” he starts explaining.

The prince interrupts him, his face screwed in confusion, “I’m afraid I can’t understand you, little Yura. And please stop calling me sparkly sword man.” he looks over at Yuuri. “It seems that I am a little bit out of touch.”

“A little bit, yes,” Yuuri says, already firing off a quick text to Phichit ( _Met the ghost. He’s really pretty, and thinks the earth is flat. Come help_ ).

“I understand some things. People used to come here in every age, to find seclusion and privacy. Some time ago, there was a war. Big birds flying overhead. After that, there was a long period of peace, and then I saw these, giant, green carriages passing by in the distance. A lot more people came to hide then.”

“That was the second world war and then the invasion of the USSR,” Yuuri says, without thinking. The prince stares at him, confused. “Never mind, forget it. I’ll get you some books so you can catch up.”

The ghost’s face lights up in a heart-shaped smile. “That would be wonderful, thank you!”

\--- 

The three of them keep talking, conversation slightly awkward. Prince Viktor doesn’t understand a lot of things, but he’s very enthusiastic. Yuuri tries his best to give manageable answers to all kinds of questions the Prince has (“So you’re from the land of Mongols?” he asks, completely seriously.

“My parents are from Japan, but I was born here,” answers Yuuri.

“What is Japan? And what does it mean, here? Is this the county of Bohemia? Or the Österreich-Ungarn? I think I heard someone mention that once…”

“It’s called the Czech Republic.”

“What’s a republic?”

“I… It’s kind of like a kingdom, but instead of a king, people vote to elect other people that they think will rule well. That’s the gist of it.”

“Should I ask what a gist is?”

“Please don’t.”). 

Yura stays mostly silent, but sometimes pipes up with a question or a declaration that sounds way too advanced for a seven-year-old. “What is it like to be a ghost? Don’t you get lonely?” he says, all of sudden, making both Yuuri and the prince look over at him.

“It does, from time to time,” mutters the ghost, suddenly looking sad and wistful. “Not that many people come here, and it’s been more than a century since I showed myself to anyone. I used to venture out from the castle, to keep watch on the roads and scare off any thieves, but not anymore.” His hair blows in the wind, and for a moment, he’s see-through and translucent and Yuuri wants to reach out and grab him and hold him there. “I like the quiet, though. It’s always peaceful around here. From what you and Yuuri have told me, it seems that the world has changed a lot, but this castle hasn’t. It’s still the same ruin that it was when it burned down four hundred years ago and everyone abandoned it. Well, everyone except for me. I am very stubborn in that regard,” he chuckles.

Yuuri suddenly remembers what is supposed to happen to the castle, and he feels as if a cold shower has washed over him. But before he can speak, there is chatter and noises at the gate, and the price stands abruptly, hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Yuuri! Do you have the ghost?” yells a voice that Yuuri recognizes as Mila’s. He hears someone shushing her, but it’s not before long that a group of people appear in the courtyard, stopping in their tracks at the sight of the ghost. It’s most of the kids from the camp, along with Chris and Phichit. The prince regards them with a cold look, choosing to stay visible.

“Are those your friends, Yuuri?”

“Yes! They’re the ones I told you about,” Yuuri stammers, hoping to de-escalate the tense situation. Sadly, Chris has the same thought, but a completely different approach. He steps forward and winks at prince Viktor, putting on his most seductive smile.

“I am Chris Giacometti, your majesty,” he says, dropping into a mock of a bow. “Care to introduce yourself, my dear?”

The prince’s eyes go wide and then narrow, “I am not your dear. In fact, looks to me like you’re the _deer_ around here.” There’s a high pitched sound, like from a triangle, and in the place where Chris was standing a moment ago, stands a majestic brown deer with blonde fur around his ears.

Everyone gasps, but the deer, absolutely unfazed, walks off a bit and starts snacking on some grass and weeds.

“Your majesty - Why did you do that! That’s my friend! Turn him back!” exclaims Yuuri, suddenly mad. “He was just joking!”

“It’s payback for that bedsheet monster, and his nonexistent manners. He will turn back soon enough,” says the prince nonchalantly, with a hint of mirth in his voice. “One must win a fencing match before they get the right to call me their ‘dear’.” 

There’s a long moment of silence, where everyone’s eyes flit from Chris the deer to prince Viktor the ghost, until one of the Nishigori triplets wiggles out of Emil’s grasp and slowly waddles her way towards the prince, whose ice-cold façade melts immediately.

“Prince Viktor of castle Terenice, at your service, young lady,” he bows properly before her, then sinks to his knees so he is eye level.

“I am Loop,” the little girl says, proudly puffing out her chest. “You have nice hair,” she continues, “and a cool sword.”

“Thank you, young lady Loop!”

And with that, a dam breaks. All the kids start slowly coming up to the prince, introducing themselves one after another. Yuuri has never seen them so respectful and elegant. He supposes that Chris the deer (who is currently trying to eat Yuuri’s hair) must be a scary example.

Phichit goes last, stumbling over his own name and asking the prince once more for Chis to be turned back. The ghost raises his eyebrows, but then sighs and nods. There’s that triangle sound again, and suddenly there’s Chris, sitting in the grass like nothing happened.

“Chris!” calls Phichit, running over to him, distressed. “Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I just had a snack.”

Yuuri snorts at that, and he sees that the prince is smirking behind his hand too. Chris dusts himself off, as if nothing happened, and then even smiles at the prince as he goes to sit on a nearby tree trunk.

Yuuri quickly relays what happened, explaining their encounter in the dungeon and the prince’s limited knowledge of the current world. Phichit offers to bring him some books too, and Leo launches straight into explaining the Newtonian laws of physics before Sara can shake him out of it. Prince Viktor seems more than pleased with the unfolding of events, and eager to learn.

But as he wraps up his story, Yuuri realizes again the important thing that he forgot. Maybe he will be turned into a deer (or maybe something worse, like a fish), but the prince deserves to know. “Your majesty, I have bad news for you,” he says, steeling himself. “Someone wants to buy this castle, and make it a tourist attraction.”

“What?” the prince turns, eyes flashing cold again.

“He wants to make people pay to enter and bring tourists from all over the world. You will probably never have peace again, if people start visiting.”

“How can someone buy this castle? This is _my_ castle, and I intend to keep it.”

“Well… Technically, it belongs to the town of Terenice, since, you – well, you can’t really legally own anything, given that you’re a ghost,” says Yuuri helplessly. “And the mayor of Terenice intends to sell the castle to a rich businessman, who wants to make money off of it.”

“That’s unacceptable.” The eyes of Prince Viktor are now full of icy fury, and his hand has returned to the hilt of his sword. He stands up and starts pacing. “In all the centuries I’ve spent here, people of Terenice have only shown me respect, even if they have never seen me. I protected them, and they protected me. _Traitors.”_

 _“_ Me and my friends here grew up around this castle, and it’s our home too,” says Phichit suddenly. “We can make some kind of plan to protect it, I’m sure, your majesty.” The kids around him nod vigorously.

 _“_ We’ll help!” exclaims Yura, and his statement is echoed around the courtyard.

Yuuri stands and approaches the prince, extending his right hand and introducing himself for the third time today. “My name is Katsuki Yuuri, and you have my word, as well as everyone else’s here, that we will do everything we can to prevent this castle from being sold and made into a money grab. My only condition is that you don’t turn any more of my friends into animals.”

Prince Viktor stares at him, and then accepts the handshake, a sad smile on his lips. “That is an agreement I can accept. If we are to be friends, then you may call me just Viktor.” His hand is cold but soft, and Yuuri mourns the loss when he lets go.

“Nice to meet you then, Viktor.”


	3. III.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a plan is executed and daisies appear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to aze for beta'ing, and to viluš and ari for letting me yell about this chapter, I'm forever grateful!!! Also, this chapter features a) an unintentional innuendo and b) two references to my beloved fandom friends and/or their fics. Can you spot them all? :D

They almost miss lunch. Minako eyes the whole of them as they barge into the dining building, and then dismisses Yuuri’s apologies with a wave of her hand. Instead, she sits by him, Chris, and Phichit and sips her dark-as-midnight coffee with two sugars. “I’m going to take a trip to town tomorrow, to get some supplies and other stuff, anyone want to go with me?” she asks after they have finished eating.

“I mean, I had plans to take the kids orienteering tomorrow, and you know how much time that takes to prep,” Yuuri excuses himself. He is quite proud of himself for coming up with a plan on the spot. He knows the way she’s been looking at him this whole time. If she gets him into her car, it won’t be half an hour and he’ll have babbled out the whole secret ghost in the castle thing. And then she’d fire him and write his therapist a letter about him having hallucinations. Minako can read him like an open book. Even now, she probably suspects that he’s hiding something.

Chris shakes his head, snacking on a lollipop that one of the kids (Guang Hong, probably) gave him. “I’m gonna help Yuuri out. I’m the orienteering guy around here.” That’s a clever way to get out of Minako’s claws – because, truly, Chris was the one who brought orienteering up for the first time years ago and made the sports team add it as another activity. He also teaches all the little kids how to work a compass and how to read a map. He taught Yuuri too, when they were both fourteen (That was the summer Yuuri realized that he liked boys as well as girls, after spending an excessive amount of time with Chris in a forest, watching him roam fearlessly through it, no roads in sight. Orienteering might even be a hotter sport than figure skating, and that’s _saying something_.)

Phichit’s voice drags Yuuri out of his spiraling bisexual thoughts: “I could go. I’d hardly be any help to you two.” Phichit, bless his heart, is shit at orienteering. He makes up for it with enthusiasm, but the one time they let him go alone, he ended up in a village ten kilometers away, still convinced he just has to go a little bit further to find that one turn that he missed at the very start. Since then, he just hangs out around either of them and picks blackberries while they struggle to find that one damn rock. “I realized I forgot my book at home, so I’ll swing by a bookstore, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure, no problem.” Minako shrugs. Yuuri has faith in Phichit, because his friend has the incredible ability to expertly derail a conversation and stay away from secret or uncomfortable topics. Phichit might actually stand a chance against Minako’s investigative attempts. “What do you guys have planned for this afternoon?” She asks.

“We’ll see how the kids feel after they’ve digested the lunch a bit,” Yuuri ponders, looking out the window and smiling when he sees the castle, still there, still standing. “Maybe we could do something calmer, like a quiz? Or we could go swimming in the river.”

“If you do go swimming,” warns Minako, finishing her coffee, “make sure to tell them to not drink the water. Remember that year when half the camp had stomach flu.”

He remembers, all too well. “We’ll be careful.”

Once she leaves, Yuuri turns to Phichit. “Why did you accept her offer? I bet she knows we’re up to something and wants to spy out what…”

“Precisely!” his friend smirks. “I’ll tell her all about how we want to save the castle and all that stuff, just leave out the ghost part.”

“Why the bookstore, then? You have plenty of books in the cabin, don’t you?”

“Do you want our supernatural friend to remain an America-denying flat-earther?” they all giggle at Phichit’s exclamation, but he remains more or less serious. “I’ll get him some encyclopaedias. Something that… introduces him to the modern world.”

“I mean,” mumbles Chris, “you could just get him a phone-”

“That would be like giving a phone to my eighty-year-old grandma, and you know it, _deer_.”

Yuuri snorts at the use of the endearment, while Chris looks mildly offended for a short moment, before smiling too. “I’m going to have that on my plate for a long time, aren’t I?”

“You bet.”

\---

The early afternoon is one of the rare calm parts of the day at camp. Yuuri uses it to attempt studying, but mostly he just ends up staring at the two textbooks and silently critiquing their choice of cover design. Phichit just plays with his phone next to him, idly looking over Minami and Guang-Hong, who sit in the nearby grass and try to make their way through the first chapter of Arthur Ransome’s _Swallows and Amazons_. The rest of the kids are sometimes seen wandering out on the porch of their cabin, deeming the air too hot to exist in, and shuffling back in. Chris busies himself with preparing some questions for a game he has planned for the rest of them.

After about an hour has passed and the shadows have grown a tiny bit, they call the kids from the cabins and take them to the low-positioned climbing center. Some feel brave enough to put on climbing gear and make their way through the elevated obstacle course, while others yell advice at them from the ground. Yuuri himself, who could do this course while blindfolded, makes sure no one falls off. Phichit hands out snacks, and then they make their way back towards the river. The kids keep talking about Viktor between one another, sometimes coming up to either of the grown-ups (as much as Yuuri, Chris or Phichit can be considered that) for their opinion.

“Why do you think Viktor has such long hair?” asks Leo, while the rest of the kids are already splashing around and trying to knock one another off paddleboards, Phichit trying and failing to keep some semblance of order in their wild games.

“I don’t know, Leo. Maybe it’s got some deeper significance, maybe he just likes it,” Yuuri tries his best to explain, helping gather the boy’s hair in a low ponytail, same as he is sporting. “You can ask him the next time we see him.”

“And when will we see him?”

“I don’t know, sorry. When he decides to show himself, probably.”

“And when will that be? I have so many questions!”

“You’ll probably have to wait. Be patient.”

“But I don’t want to be patient,” arguments Leo, turning around to look Yuuri in the eye. “I just want to talk to him.”

Yuuri is about to sigh and try to explain to him that ghosts (or people, for that matter) generally won’t respect these kinds of wishes, when he feels a cold breeze brush past him. He turns his head, anticipating a storm cloud in the sky. Instead, he sees Viktor (who is still very beautiful, oh yes) sitting a few meters away in the grass. His hair is in a braid again, but a more intricate one this time, and he doesn’t have a sword hanging from his hip. He waves at both Yuuri and Leo, smiling widely. “Blessed afternoon! What did you want to ask, sir Leo?”

The boy gathers his thoughts faster than expected. “H- Have you been there this whole time?”

“More or less, I’ve been around here much longer than you have.”

“How old are you?”

“That’s a tough one,” Viktor puts his finger to his lips in thought, the other hand idly picking daisies out of the grass, “I’ve been eighteen for the last five hundred years.”

“So how come you know so little?”

“I know plenty, young man. It’s just that the information seems to be a bit outdated these days.”

“Oh.” Leo is quiet for a bit, until someone yells at him from the water to come. Then he sheepishly waves and goes to join his friends, leaving Yuuri and Viktor to sit alone on the riverbank.

Viktor blows his hair out of his eyes and smiles at Yuuri (who tries his best not to swoon). The grass is lush green, weeds growing near the wooden steps to the river. Yuuri returns the smile, noting that the silence between them isn’t uncomfortable. That’s rare. But then again, Viktor is literally the rarest thing ever, so maybe it’s not that unusual for him.

“Why did you come?” asks Yuuri after a while, as Phichit tries to convince Mila to stop capsizing everyone else’s paddleboards.

“I wanted to see my friends, isn’t that reason enough?” Viktor’s words might sound lighthearted, but the look on his face tells Yuuri that there’s something deeper hiding behind it.

“We’re not that interesting…”

“I object to that. Especially you, Yuuri, you’re quite interesting.”

“How am I interesting to an immortal ghost? You must have seen dozens of people just like me through your life,” Yuuri says, blushing despite himself.

“The castle is quite a lonely place, I haven’t met that many mortals. You stayed in my mind as the quiet boy who sneaked in with books while others played down here. And now you’re all grown up, and after barely knowing me you’ve already offered to help me, asking for nothing. You intrigue me.” Viktor smiles again. “Just what are your wishes? Those things have great power, you know.”

Stumped by Viktor’s declaration, Yuuri is silent for a few moments. “I wish for things to stay as they were, at least for a little bit longer.” The breeze rustles his hair and shirt, making him shiver. The prince next to him watches him with a cautious gaze, eyes suddenly ice cold.

“Be careful about that wish, Yuuri.”

“Why do you say that?” Yuuri says indignantly. Then, when Viktor keeps looking at him with that glare, he continues. “Sometimes I feel as if my happy, careless days are slipping through my fingers and I have to make harder and harder decisions about my future, without a moment left to ponder. I just want this castle to stay as it was, for at least a tiny piece of my childhood to remain. Is that too much?”

Viktor blinks, turning his head away from Yuuri and towards the river. “You and I are more similar than I thought,” he mutters after a moment.

“I – I don’t know what came over me, I’m sorry, Viktor!” Yuuri realizes his mistake all too late. Now Viktor will get mad at him and disappear and Yuuri will never see him again and -

“No harm done. It’s just interesting how much like you I was when I ran away from home,” interrupts Viktor his spiraling train of thought. He stands and dusts off nonexistent dirt from his tunic. “See you soon, Yuuri. Be well!” He waves at the kids in the river, then smiles at Yuuri one more time, takes a step – and _disappears_.

The only evidence of his presence is the small handful of daisies growing in the grass where he last stood. Yuuri looks at them with wonder, thinking about both the future and the past.

\--- 

The next few days pass in the strange way that days are keen to pass at summer camp – lightning-fast and maddeningly slow at the same time. Yuuri and Chris take the kids orienteering and manage not to lose anyone. Viktor appears from time to time, wary at first but warm afterward, interacting with the kids like he was made to be a camp counselor. When Yuuri mentions that to him, he blushes and disappears, burying them all in daisies (Daisies seem to follow Viktor wherever he goes, as if he was Persephone dancing through the Underworld).

Phichit comes back from the town with an armful of books, which Viktor reads alarmingly fast and asks many questions about. “He’s like a teenager that has been stuck alone without any kind of entertainment or education for centuries. Not like the old and wise man one would expect a five-hundred-year-old ghost to be,” muses Chris, watching Sara and Mila struggle to explain the wonders of modern music to Viktor, who has pink headphones with bunny ears on his head and is smiling like an idiot. (“Why, of all things, did you have to play him K-pop,” weeps Phichit nearby. “I am never lending you my headphones again.”)

“Maybe it’s because he _is_ just a teenager,” says Yuuri. “Just like us.”

Chris doesn’t respond, so Yuuri stands up and walks over to save Viktor before Mila introduces him to Russian funk.

The prince also often appears when Yuuri tries to study, and has many questions about the life of a current teenager. (“So you don’t need to win the hand of your love in a fencing match?”

“Not really, no.”

“And your parents don’t arrange your marriage?”

“I mean, in some cultures it’s a tradition, but mine don’t.”

“And you don’t have to marry someone you don’t like?”

“Of course not. People usually get married when they’ve known each other for a long time and want to start a family together. Sometimes they start a family without getting married. Some people get married and then divorce. Some don’t get married or start a family ever.”

“Like Minako?”

“Pretty much.”

“But she cares for all of you like a mother hen, I’ve noticed.”

“Just because she’s not our blood relative doesn’t mean she can’t care for us. We’re her sports team.”

Viktor is silent for a little bit, a smile playing on his lips. “I like your time, Yuuri.”) 

While they all enjoy their happy time together, they’re plagued by the looming future that awaits the castle. Phichit brings not only books and sweets, but also news about the progress around the purchase. Apparently, he has managed to ask around for some publicly available records, because he’s amazing like that, and then brought the information back to camp.

He lays out his notebook on a flat stone in the castle ruin, morning sun filtering through the surrounding trees making him look like a medieval scribe about to reveal that the earth isn’t flat. “So,” he says, scanning over the kids seated in front of him, with Chris, Yuuri, and Viktor in the back (It has become routine for Yuuri to refer to them as a group like that, it’s strange. It’s Phichit, Chris, Viktor, and Yuuri now, and it sounds like it was always meant to be that way.) “The realtor and the mayor of Terenice are scheduled to visit this place on Friday evening, which is the day after tomorrow, to look around, take pictures, all that jazz. Then, if it goes smoothly, the investor himself should come by next Saturday, which is the last day of camp for us. He actually isn’t aiming to buy just the castle, he’s buying some fields around Terenice and the castle happens to be part of the property. He does intend to turn it into a tourist spectacle, though.”

“There’s no way that you obtained all of this information through legal means, Phichit,” says Yuuri in a deadpan tone.

“I have my ways, don’t question them,” answers his friend cheerfully. Experience has taught Yuuri that questioning or doubting Phichit and his methods leads to devastating consequences, so he backs down.

“What do you think we should do?” he asks instead, to change the topic.

Emil interrupts their conversation before Phichit can get a word out. “Phichit said ‘if the realtor’s visit goes smoothly’. It’s simple. We just have to make sure it doesn’t.”

Mickey regards him with a glare. “And how do you suggest we do that. What are adults even afraid of, when money is at stake?”

This knocks out the wind out of all the adults present (fair enough, none of them have been an adult for more than a year and they still feel like they’re kind of just playing at it, but _hey._ ) Viktor tilts his head to the side, smiling in a way that’s less ‘I am a ray of sunshine’ and more ‘I am the sun and I am a deadly ball of gas’. “In my experience, humans in general are quite scared of ghosts.”

“That’s… definitely true,” says Chris. “But you can’t very well turn a realtor into a chimpanzee. Sooner or later you’d have a bunch of overeager scientists trying to dissect you, and the castle would become a tourist attraction anyway.”

“Aren’t adults afraid of the dark?” Asks Yura with wide eyes. “I think that what you did to us scared us a lot. You don’t need a chimpanzee.”

“I agree with Yura,” Yuuri chimes in. “I think, if we could manage to delay the visit until night time, you could just be your very own ghost self, Viktor. Burning writing, floating swords, all of that.”

“So I should be… a general menace, an unknown fear, an… urban legend? Is that the word?” The smile on Viktor’s face is so beautifully soft and excited, one might forget he’s talking about scaring people to death.

“Just be you,” says Yuuri.

“Oh,” says Viktor, and he blushes, a single daisy blooming next to his hand that lies on the grass.

\--- 

Everyone takes preparation for the realtor's visit incredibly seriously, including the biggest troublemakers - Mickey and Georgi. Turns out that if you give them enough responsibility, they suddenly don’t have the time to get on your nerves. Both of the boys spent hours crafting and revising a plan to delay the visit, and the schema of the final draft looks more like a battle between the Athenians and the Spartans than a plot to distract two people. Phichit, who oversees their work, is incredibly proud, and bestows the two with the highest compliment – they’re allowed to get a snack from his secret snack stash under his mattress. It only serves to make him even prouder of them when they decide to share their chocolates and marshmallows with the rest of the kids.

When Friday comes, they’re ready. After much discussion, they have decided to try to delay the visit at multiple points – at first back in Terenice, by barricading the narrow bridge with bikes, then in the forest, by pulling a trunk across the road, then by locking the boat storage at the landing near the camp. If that isn’t enough, they will resolve to plan B – Befriend. Chris and Phichit, together with Sara, Leo, Guang Hong, and the triplets will be waiting in the bushes around the landing and try their best to distract them by conversation, games, and general chaos. Should everything go fine, there’s no way the men will be at the castle before dusk falls, which will give Viktor (with the help of Yuuri, Yura, Mila, and Minami) the opportunity to unleash his terrifying self.

Emil, Mickey, and Georgi leave on their bikes in the early afternoon, armed with ropes, phones, and some duct tape. Minako throws a cursory glance at them as they cycle past, but if it seems weird to her, she doesn’t acknowledge it.

The rest of them wait in anxious silence, waiting for a call that “The _dinosaurs_ have arrived” (Mickey was very particular about needing code names for everything, and once someone explained to Viktor what code names are, he got very excited about it and agreed with Mickey’s sentiment. So now Yuuri is “Guitar” and he just has to live with it.}

The grass is dry, because it hasn’t rained ever since that first evening. It almost crunches underfoot when Yuuri paces around one of the outer walls of the castle. The sun is still blinding and yellow, no trace of dusk red or even late afternoon orange. The air is heavy and stale, and Yuuri feels a bit like suffocating. He climbs a particularly broken part of the wall, sitting himself up on a ledge that overlooks the valley of the river. He has brought his Terry Prattchet book with him, but he feels too nervous to focus on reading. After a quarter of an hour, when he tries and fails to not check his phone every five seconds, he gives up. Placing the phone and book next to him, he stares out into the country, over the rolling hills and green meadows, with the shadows of factories on the horizon. It’s funny – how such an unattractive thing like a giant factory can become part of the environment of home. It has kind of always been there, and Yuuri has learned to live with it. He has to learn to live with everything. Even with the possibility of the castle not being ‘his’ anymore, says a nagging voice inside of his head. The reasonable and hopeful part of Yuuri rejects this train of thought before it can get any further (Therapy can teach you that, it’s really cool, almost like turning people into deers), but it stays there, in the back of his mind, anxious and overthinking. 

“What’s it like?” Asks a voice, and suddenly, Viktor is sitting next to him, like he has so many times since they’ve met. It’s almost like a routine at this point. Yuuri likes that, it makes him feel warm inside. 

“What’s what like?” He asks, turning to face the prince.

“Being mortal. Or, just, living in your world. I have read all the books that Phichit brought me, and I now know so much stuff about history and physics and biology, I don’t even know what to do with all that information. But the books couldn’t tell me what’s it really like,” Viktor turns his head sideways, leaning on his hand. “Does the wind feel different on your skin? Do you feel your heart speeding up when you’re around people that understand you? It’s been so long since I’ve felt the fear of falling, or the dark, or spiders. The books talk about it, but I can’t remember what kinds of fears I had, or if I liked the cold more than the heat…” he trails off, and he looks so lost and lonely, that Yuuri can’t help himself.

He slowly, carefully, places his hand on top of the one Victor is resting on the wall. It’s cold to touch, but he doesn’t mind. “How about now?” He stares into the landscape, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Victor promptly blushes too, but doesn’t pull his hand away. “Well, your hand is very nice… and warm…” he stops, looking a bit less sad than a minute ago, content to just enjoy the moment.

“You know, I think the core of being mortal, is the uniqueness of life. We have such a short time in this world, it’s important to appreciate every detail and crave our own path, to find anything that makes you happy.”

“You and your friends make me very happy, Yuuri. What makes you happy?”

“Well,” Yuuri tries to not meet Viktor’s gaze, because he is sure he’d combust from embarrassment if he did. They are still holding hands. Kind of. “My dog, for example. And my friends too. And you. And this place.”

“Is this why you don’t want it to change? Why you’re so protective of it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. This is my childhood. I feel like I lose that part of myself if I let this go,” He pauses, pulling both his hands into his lap. “Sorry, didn’t mean to spring it up at you again.”

Viktor just smiles and starts rebraiding his hair. “That’s okay. You’re facing a difficult decision, from what I’ve gathered. What is it?”

“It isn’t a decision, per se. Just the natural progress of growing up. I want to go study at a university, but I need to choose what. I have to leave a lot of my friends behind.”

“Wait, Yuuri,” the prince suddenly sits up straight. “You’re not getting married?”

“No- Of course not! Where did you come up with that idea?”

Viktor visibly exhales and giggles (a wonderful, sweet sound). “It’s how it used to be back then. You know my story, I just sort of assumed. I apologize.”

Yuuri can’t help himself and smiles too. “I don’t plan on getting married to anyone just yet.”

And in that perfect moment, that could have been used to hold hands again, or perhaps to tuck Viktor’s stray hair behind his ear and tell him that he’s very beautiful, Yuuri’s phone rings. He scrambles for it, nearly falling off the wall in his rush to answer it. It’s Emil – no sorry, It’s _Protector One_.

“Yes?” He asks as soon as he picks up.

“ _Guitar_ , the _Dinosaurs_ have been stalled for now, but probably not for long. How are things going at the _Eagle’s nest_?”

“Everything is ready. Uh, _Guitar, Sword, Chicken Nugget, Red Widow,_ and _Tiger_ are in position. We’re awaiting dusk. When we left the landi – I mean _Ba Sing Se_ , _Group B_ was also ready.”

“Good. I will send further info.”

“Please do, and don’t get yourself or the other _Protectors_ injured.”

“Roger that. _Protector One_ , sound off.” The call ends just as abruptly as it started, and Yuuri smiles to himself at the pure chaos that the codenames brought. He has always made a point of taking the kids seriously when they come up with something, so learning their new names was a must. He’s pretty proud of himself, to be honest.

“Is it time?” Viktor asks, fiddling with his hair again.

“Not yet, but soon. Let’s get back to the others.” The sun isn’t setting, but there is a shade of orange in the sky, and the world around is painted in shades of gold and yellow. Viktor’s hair and clothes glint when they catch the light, and when he plucks a daisy from the grass and puts it behind his ear, Yuuri is starstruck. He pulls himself out of it – they have work to do, a castle to save.

But he wonders if Viktor even knows how much humanity and warmth he has in that ghost heart. If he knows that Yuuri’s priorities have shifted – He no longer needs the castle to always stay the same – he just wants Viktor to smile again.

\--- 

The rest of the twilight passes while they sit on stones around the courtyard, play various word games, check their plans five times over, and receive updates from their friends through Yuuri’s phone.

The realtor and the mayor – or, as is their codename, the _dinosaurs_ , advance relatively quickly up until plan B hits them. Where a tree on the road slowed them down for ten minutes, Phichit takes them to get coffee and cakes in the dining building and manages to stall them for nearly two hours. When Mila finally runs back from her observation outpost that the two are preparing their canoe, it’s nearly dark.

Yuuri and the kids turn on their flashlights while Viktor vanishes. He’s still there, daisies floating in thin air, but not visible to them anymore. They take their places and shush each other until the only noise is the wind in the trees. The evening is warm but crisp, and the night sky above them is glinting with the first stars.

When they hear voices coming from in front of the gate, they all go rigid. Their plan should be foolproof – A string of appearing and disappearing lights (Yuuri, Minami, Mila, a flashlight, and two mirrors. Thank god for high school physics classes) that will lead the unwelcome visitors into the tower, and then a loud noise (Yura found himself a sturdy stick and a lid from a trash can and promised to unleash all of his force) to persuade them to the dungeon. From there, the stage is Viktor’s - and he’s got all the aces up his sleeve.

At first, it all goes smoothly. The voices get closer, and Yuuri recognizes one self-assured and poised and the other trying to please and win the other over. The two men appear in his line of vision, and he crouches behind the wall more to not give away his position. He blocks out all of their chatter and focuses on holding the flashlight steady and then turning it on in the direction he knows Mila is.

They practiced before, and it pays off. The light hits the mirror and bounces from it, throwing rays of brightness on the tower and eliciting a gasp from the two men. Yuuri maneuvers the flashlight around, and Minami’s mirror also gleams, confusing the visitors even more. Then Yuuri turns the light off and waits for their response to such bait.

The two men are quiet for a moment, and then the self-assured voice speaks. “What did you say about those ghosts?” He’s the realtor, Yuuri assumes.

“Uh – That’s just an urban legend, don’t worry about it,” says the other voice, which must be the mayor.

“Then what were those lights?”

“Maybe a reflection of the river? I don’t know, sir, why do you ask?”

“Well, don’t you think they were a bit peculiar? They were pointing at the tower.”

“Yes, but what about it?”

“Let’s go take a look at it! I want to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Now? In the dark?” the mayor sounds even more unsettled than before.

“Well, if we haven’t gone to get coffee with that young gentleman, we might have been here during the daylight. I’ll want to see this place again in the daytime before I forward the review to my client, but it would be a waste to not look around now, when we’re already here.”

Just to make sure, Yuuri and Mila execute one more light maneuver, and that seems to convince the men to go investigate. They cross the courtyard, the lights from their phones small circles of blue-white light in an ocean of darkness. The three conspirators grin to themselves when the light disappears in the tower.

They wait, no longer able to hear the conversation. There’s a loud _bang_ , and Yuuri silently cheers for Yura’s future in percussion. Then it’s quiet again, strings pulled taut and about to snap.

And that’s when it goes all wrong.

Because when the two figures emerge again, the realtor isn’t scared. He’s _delighted._

“An actual ghost! Who would have thought! This is wonderful.”

“It is?” The mayor speaks slowly next to him.

“Yes, of course! The amount of money this will generate once the renovation is complete will make the purchase more than worth it. Imagine the tourists! They can go look into the dungeon and see real magic, burning writing on the wall, floating swords, ominous voices, and shadowy figures – what more could you ask for?” the realtor explains, and his words make Yuuri shake with anger. _How dare they_. He wants to make them pay, to climb down from the wall and bash them over the head with that flashlight, then kick them into the crotch and send them running. He doesn’t do it, and just lets them walk away as the realtor rambles excitedly on.

He feels numb, and cold and raw, the mess of emotions swirling around his head like a hurricane. Climbing down when he deems the air clear enough, Yuuri runs across the courtyard, seeing both Mila and Minami move around in the darkness. They take the steps into the dungeon by two, and are greeted with a horrific scene.

Yura is standing on the edge of the stairs, eyes filled with tears. That alone would be terrifying enough, but there’s more. In the middle of the room there’s Viktor, sitting on the floor, knees pulled to his chest. Yuuri’s flashlight hits him, he lifts his head up, face sad and resigned. But the worst thing is what is all around them, everywhere.

There’s daisies. The flower Viktor loves so much, the one that blooms when he’s happy and grows around his boots when he walks. There’s daisies sprouting from every crack in the stone, and all of them are _dead_. 

Yuuri takes a step, trying to avoid the wilted flowers and get closer to the prince. He doesn’t make it.

“I’m so sorry Yuuri. I failed.” Whispers Viktor, and then he disappears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, ok! There's a happy ending!!!
> 
> Side note, I've fallen back into LOTR all of sudden. I may or may not be plotting a victuuri oneshot set in Middle-earth :3


	4. IV.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which there is a campfire, and a duel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind comments that you have left on the previous chapters!!! I owe my whole life to aze, who beta'ed this. Also to viluš and ari, who cheered me on.
> 
> TW: This chapter features a brief description of a panic attack, so please take care!

The next few days are quiet.

Anger that Yuuri and subsequently everyone else felt at the exclamations of the realty agent slowly fades, leaving them numb and sad. The kids drag around camp, throwing themselves into sports and any other activities to distract from the thoughts of the future. The weather is beautiful as if to spite them in their inconsolable state. The daisies that Viktor’s steps have planted around the camp keep growing, thriving in the bright sunlight and the cold nights with occasional showers. Guang Hong takes to making a flower crown out of them, incorporating violets and dandelions as well. He gifts his creation to Yuuri, who wears it until the flowers wilt, and then puts it in a bowl of water on the windowsill, watching the light dance on the petals and feeling strangely untethered to the world.

Phichit desperately tries to find another way to stop the deal from being signed, but his search is fruitless.

“Anything short of literally burning the castle down, or rewriting the ownership papers can’t stop it. And I doubt they would care even if we did rewrite them.” He mumbles while brushing his hair out of his eyes in the communal bathroom. It’s been three days, and neither he nor Yuuri or Chris have slept longer than three hours at a time. They’ve been reading, playing cards, just staring into the darkness, unable to let go.

Viktor is nowhere to be seen, and Yuuri doesn’t blame him, even if he wishes he could have comforted him, at least a little bit. It takes Yuuri one more day of this cold, alien stillness, before he decides that enough is enough.

He goes to Minako’s cabin, knocks, enters, and tells her everything. From his research about the stories of this tiny part of the world to the threat that the commercialization of the castle poses to them. He rambles on about a strange friend that they’ve made – and about how he’s not that strange after all. He talks about Viktor’s charming smile, his braid, his sword, his peculiar powers, his witty remarks, and about his beloved daisies. When he’s finished, Yuuri exhales deeply, looks out of the window, spotting the castle, and then back, right into Minako’s eyes.

She’s staring at him with a sense of exasperation, as if she knew all along. Would it be that strange if she knew? Yuuri asks himself – She’s been around this place much longer than he has, and maybe Viktor has revealed himself to her as well.

“To be honest,” she begins, propping her chin on her hand, “I expected something worse.”

Yuuri smiles sheepishly. “What?”

“I mean, you could be getting drunk out of your minds every night at that castle. I even suspected you were up to… recreational activities. I’m glad that doesn’t seem to be the case,” she grins when she sees Yuuri go bright red.

“So you don’t think I’m crazy?”

“You are kind of crazy, but you are also an experienced camp counselor and an adult. I trust your judgment, Yuuri.”

“Wow. I –“ Yuuri is overcome with his admiration for Minako’s support yet again. (Her reaction to his coming out was similar: “So you’re saying that you kind of want to kiss Chris, but also kind of want to kiss Yuuko. Don’t kiss Yuuko, she’s taken. And don’t kiss Chris, your standards are higher than that. If you want to kiss a boy, kiss Phichit.”)

“So, what do you want me to do about it?”

“I don’t know. Viktor – he just, kind of, disappeared, after that realtor went away. I haven’t seen him since. I worry about him. Of course, I worry about the future of the castle too, but Viktor is more important. I have no idea how to make sure he’s okay.” He’s rambling and he knows it. But he doesn’t care. He needs reassurance, guidance, encouragement – _anything_. “The kids are also really sad about it – and I am too – and I don’t know how to make it better, which is making me even more anxious.”

“You feel powerless to help people you care about in a situation that seems to have no happy endings, is what I understand?” Oh, thank all the gods for Minako and the psychology crash course she attended a few years ago.

“Something like that.”

“And what would cheer _you_ up now, Yuuri?”

“Me?”

“You can’t help others if you yourself are drowning in sadness. What makes _you_ happy?”

Yuuri thinks for a moment, eyes searching around the room to find any kind of idea. “I guess music?” Then he sees Minako’s eyes glint and the lightbulb in his brain finally turns on. “Do you think we could have a bonfire?”

“I don’t see why not.” She’s smiling, clearly proud of him.

Once he announces his plans, his friends visibly perk up. Some of them still drag themselves while collecting wood for the fire, but they are much more active than the days before. Yuuri helps with the wood, getting an axe from Minako and chopping the bigger logs into smaller pieces. (He doesn’t take his shirt off, just to spite Phichit. His friend keeps insisting that it would make Viktor appear immediately.) Afterwards he goes and tunes his guitar, while Phichit prepares the sausages and the marshmallows.

When he was little, Yuuri was never really encouraged to pick up music – he just stumbled into it himself. His parents were supportive, and so he attended piano class for multiple years. He practiced, both out of habit and to calm his own mind. But the problem with that was that his teacher applauded Yuuri’s diligence and skill and wanted him to do solo recitals. Yuuri didn’t like solo recitals. His hands would shake, his eyes would well up with tears, and he would be a mess by the time the first piece ended.

And so he thanked the teacher for her patience, pushed the piano into a corner, covered it with a blanket, and bought a guitar on a flea market.

It wasn’t the best guitar – but it was good enough. Yuuri, unwilling to make his parents pay for his failure, got his classmate to teach him the basics in exchange for writing his essays. This arrangement worked out long enough for Yuuri to learn all he wanted – and then he played on his own.

Mari got him a proper, quality guitar for his seventeenth birthday and he was so happy he kept thanking her for a solid week (He still thanks her in his mind every time he plucks the strings). Yuuri plays for himself, first and foremost. When he’s bored, he does off-key covers of pop songs and sends them to Phichit at two in the morning. Sometimes, he helps out - if the school band needs a bass guitarist, or if a friend wants him to open an art exhibition. When it’s just him and the guitar, he doesn’t care about the onlookers that much. His favorite thing to do, though, one that joins the best parts about playing alone and playing for an audience, is to play by the campfire.

He tunes the guitar, strumming a few chords to make sure it sounds passable. He’ll have to retune it a few times, as the night will set in and the temperature will sink. Yuuri zips the guitar up into the case, then puts it on his back. Passing by the bedside table, he picks up his song collection, a plastic folder full of random papers with chords and lyrics. It has a system, but no one other than him has figured it out yet.

Just when he’s grabbed his jacket and is about to open the door, his eyes catch on the flower crown that lies in the water bowl on the windowsill. It’s bloomed a bit since yesterday, looking fresh and full. Yuuri hesitates, then reaches over and tentatively picks it up. Gently shaking it to get the water out, he gingerly places it on his head. It fits him well and the harder stems tangle into his hair, securing it.

Smiling to himself, he walks out of the cabin and makes his way out of the cabin area to an open field, where the fire is being set up. It’s twilight, and some fireflies are already flying about.

He helps to distribute the sausages on sticks, Yuuko and Takeshi making sure no one sits too close to the flames. The triplets are still awake, a rare ordeal – Loop is sitting on one of the stray logs scattered around and keeps asking about Viktor. Yuuri tries his best to not let her down too much. “I’m sure he’ll show up soon enough,” he says, sitting down next to her and packing out his guitar. He also pulls out his small headlamp, and puts it on his head, making sure that the flower crown stays unharmed. He retunes the guitar, and then starts playing a song from memory, one that he and all of the kids know very well.

 _Red River Valley_ may be an American classic, but the Czech translation of it always brings up memories of this camp for Yuuri. The fire illuminates the kid’s faces, and the grins that spread across them when they recognize it. As soon as they do, they join in, smiling widely.

 _“Then come sit by my side if you love me,”_ they sing, swaying into the rhythm.

It feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off everyone’s shoulders. Like they’re letting themselves just be, for one evening, before everything that’s wrong with the world catches up to them. They’re stopping time, not letting go.

He eats a sausage and lets Phichit feed him marshmallows. Chris brings his recorder, on which he sometimes plays and other times uses like a drumstick. Yuuko belts out a perfect rendition of _Wake Me Up When September Ends_.

Yuuri himself tries his best to keep up with all the song requests, playing everything from _Before I Met You_ and _Yellow Rose of Texas_ to _Wake Me Up_ and _Run Away With Me_. He gets praise and smiles in exchange, which makes him happier than a standing ovation from stuffed artists ever could.

Still, he’s been hoping all evening for Viktor to appear, and now quite a lot of kids have already gone to bed, and the ghost is nowhere to be seen.

Chris plays _Can You Feel The Love Tonight_ , just because he can, and Yuuri lets himself be talked into playing and singing _Love Story_ at the top of his lungs. The sky is completely dark by then, only twinkling stars and the occasional Perseid visible. The faces of his friends are illuminated by the fire, and Yuuri debates whether he should herd the rest of the kids to bed.

That’s when he feels something on his right side – and when he turns, expecting Viktor, he just sees a single daisy floating in thin air.

“Viktor?” he asks, keeping his voice low. “Are you here?”

“Yes. Kind of.” Comes the quiet reply, sounding everywhere and nowhere.

“Are you alright? You just vanished, we were worried about you…”

“I’m sorry. I pulled all the tricks I had on the realtor, so I didn’t have enough power to stay visible anymore. And I didn’t even want to. I failed myself, I failed the castle, and…” Viktor pauses, a breeze making the trees swivel. “I failed you. You and your friends.”

Yuuri really wants to hug him, but Viktor is still invisible, the daisy the only thing indicating his presence. So Yuuri just whispers: “This isn’t something you can blame yourself for. You tried everything. We all did.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

They both go quiet at that. After a moment, Yuuri starts strumming the guitar again, playing a slow rendition of _Fast Car_. Most of the others don’t know the song, and Phichit and Chris are busy making out somewhere nearby, and so Yuuri is alone.

 _“Maybe we'll make something; Me, myself, I got nothing to prove-“_ he sings, feeling Viktor’s presence next to him, even if the ghost isn’t physically there.

When the last chord fades into the night, and quiet applause is heard from those around him, Yuuri wipes his eyes from strange moisture – tears, he realizes. He didn’t even know he was on the verge of crying. Quickly, he excuses himself from the campfire, citing a need to use the restroom. Once he is out of sight, he ducks into the forest and wanders aimlessly for a while, then sits down at the foot of the nearest tree and turns off his headlamp, sobs threatening to overtake him.

“That song was beautiful, Yuuri,” says Viktor, his daisy once again floating in the darkness next to him.

“Thank you, it’s just. Everything is too much. I don’t know what to do, Viktor. I don’t know how to help, I don’t know how to solve an unsolvable problem,” He tells the night trees and the stars in between them. He knows he’s crying, but he just can’t bring himself to stop. Head buried in his hands, he lets his emotions flow freely. He chokes on his own sobs, breathing growing ragged and shallow. Maybe if Viktor were visible now, Yuuri would hold it in – but he isn’t, and so Yuuri cries on.

He feels a touch on his arm. His hands shake, and his vision swims, but he manages to look up – and sees Chris and Phichit crouched next to him, their faces unreadable in the dark. Before Yuuri can say a word, Phichit wraps his arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“I can’t – I can’t do anything. I can’t protect anyone,” Sobs Yuuri into his shoulder. “Everything is wrong!”

“Just hold me, Yuuri, okay? Focus on my breathing. Breathe. We’re going to figure it out. Trust me,” He hears his friend murmur, and tries to comply.

It takes a little while, but Yuuri’s sobs finally start subsiding, remaining just sharp intakes of breath and the force with which he holds on to Phichit.

Oh, how he loves Phichit. When Yuuri had a full-blown panic attack in front of him for the first time, his friend tried to reason with him – which didn’t work, of course. But afterward, Phichit sat him down and flat out asked – and they managed to put together a battle plan. Phichit and Yuuri versus Yuuri’s anxiety. They must have been around thirteen. Everything needed a battle plan. (Yuuri still has that piece of paper, pressed flat in a plastic folder among his most prized possessions.)

“Better?” Asks Phichit, and Yuuri manages to nod. He lifts his eyes to look at Chris, who’s still nearby – but not too close, giving them privacy. Yuuri loves Chris too. Yuuri loves his friends.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for disturbing your make-out session,” Yuuri says, when he’s gathered enough courage to speak, slowly letting go of the vice grip he has on Phichit’s arm. He’s still shaky, but he’s doing a little bit better. The world is still a terrible, horrible place, but he’s more ready to face it now. “How did you even find me? Were my sobs that loud? He chuckles self-deprecatingly, taking his glasses off and cleaning them with the hem of his shirt.

Chris comes over, and Yuuri can see the confused look on his face, even in the night. “We weren’t making out, Yuuri,” he says, perplexed. “We were…” he stumbles, trying to come up with something more dignified.

Phichit completes his sentence for him: “We were walking along the field and Chris was trying to convince me to read Howl’s Moving Castle. Say it like it is, _deer_.” 

“Yes, that. You should read that book, Yuuri. It’s wonderful. Anyway, we didn’t stumble upon you. Viktor – or like, his voice - told us where to find you and that you needed help…” Chris pauses. “Speaking of which, Viktor, where are you?” He turns around, as if trying to look for an invisible ghost in the middle of the night.

“I’m here,” The prince’s voice comes from the left of them, and when he squints, Yuuri can see a floating daisy. “I didn’t know what to do, how to help you, Yuuri. I don’t have enough strength yet to hold or hug you, and I didn’t know what was happening. So I tried to find help…”

“And he found us,” Chris finishes. “I have to say, hearing your voice all of sudden in the middle of the night in an open field almost made me shit my pants, Viktor.”

“I try my best,” Says the ghost, mirth in his words.

“Oh,” manages Yuuri, momentarily awestruck. Did Viktor want to hug him? And when he couldn’t, he went and found someone who could? How did Yuuri even deserve his friendship? “Thank you, all of you. How are you even my friends?” 

“Oh hush, Yuuri. You’re an amazing person and you know it. We love you, panic attacks and all,” Phichit pats him on the back, then helps him stand up. “I’m getting a little cold. Let’s get back to the fire.”

“Yeah, what Phichit said. You’re much stronger and more powerful than you realize,” says Chris, starting to walk.

Tears threaten to overtake Yuuri again, this time out of gratitude and happiness. They make their way back, seeing the light of the fire in the distance in front of them. Yuuri didn’t even realize how far he walked before breaking down.

“I was wrong about you, Yuuri,” he hears Viktor say. “I said you were fit for a bard, with your stories and music. But you’re also a knight and a king, a fighter and a leader. I admire your skill and wisdom.” Yuuri doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he stays silent. Viktor continues: “I don’t know how to face the future, but I trust you.” 

“We’ll figure something out, Viktor,” Yuuri says to the air around him. “I’m not giving up just yet.”

He feels a gentle caress along his fingers just before he steps into the part of the field that is illuminated by the fire, and his heart grows warm.

\--- 

Viktor returns to the camp after that. He is just a daisy, only occasionally managing to materialize (Like when Yura almost falls into the river. Before Yuuri can jump in after him, an invisible force janks the boy by his shirt and back onto dry land. Yura then considers Viktor even cooler than before). He stays with them, preferring their company to the castle and its bleak future.

“It’s strange, how easy it is to change,” his voice says, floating somewhere near Yuuri’s left ear. Yuuri doesn’t try to touch him anymore, because it only results in a cool gust of wind in a place where a body should be, and it makes him sad.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

“Just two weeks ago, I wouldn’t give up my castle for anything in the world, past, future, or present. It’s been my everything for, well, centuries. And now, I feel strangely cold when I walk around those walls. Like it doesn’t belong to me anymore. Like the mortal investor has already laid his claim on it, and I am the imposter.”

“But you’ve been around much longer than him. And you’ll outlive him. Even if it all goes wrong – and it won’t, we’ll think of something – you will still only have to wait only like fifty years before the guy keels over and you’re no longer a spectacle.”

“It’s funny how you keep saying that word, Yuuri,” the voice sounds sarcastic.

“What word?”

“Live. Like my existence can be counted as living.” A daisy blooms in the grass. An invisible hand picks it, then another one, and starts weaving a flower crown. The voice continues: “I can exist for five hundred more years, and I will never be any closer to living. Living like you do. You make choices, you grow, you experience, you make mistakes, you learn. Your hair gets longer. My hair has been the same length since I became a ghost. I made that last wish, that last supernatural choice to escape from my future, which I feared. Only now have I started wondering, if it was the right decision. I’ve gotten myself stuck in a time and place while the world passes me by…” The invisible hands finish the flower crown, and then they place it on Yuuri’s head.

“But you _are_ living, Viktor,” Yuuri adjusts the flowers in his hair, and forgets to feel embarrassed, too caught up in their discussion. “Your hair may not grow, but you live. You chose to make yourself visible to us. You grew and learned from all the books that Phichit has brought you. You got angry and protective, and you turned Chris into a deer just for the fun of it. But you also tried to comfort me, when I had a panic attack yesterday. You feel, you experience, you choose. That sounds a lot like living to me.”

After a long silence, Viktor replies. “All of this life has come from you and your friends, Yuuri. I don’t think I can _outlive_ a greedy businessman. Perhaps out-exist him, yes. But all of the life that you see in me now will be gone once you leave.”

“We’ll come back next summer. And the summer after that. And every summer that will follow, we’ll be here, and you will find that you are living, even without us,” says Yuuri, getting agitated. He’s so determined to see the spark in Viktor's eyes again, to see him laugh and smile and _live_. Even if he’s a ghost, Viktor deserves to live.

“You’re only mortal, Yuuri. You’ll die.”

“There will be others! Kids and young people like us, who will love this place more than they love themselves, who will return to it like they return home.”

“I wish I had your optimism, dear.” Viktor lets out a snort.

It takes Yuuri a minute to register what just happened. “What did you just call me, Viktor?”

“What?”

“You just called me _dear_. Didn’t you say that in order to call someone that, you have to duel them or something?” Yuuri sees a way out of this strange, existential dread-inducting conversation. He takes it.

“Or something,” echoes Viktor.

“Square up then, daisy prince!” He stands up, then picks up a stick and holds it like a sword. Opposite him, another stick lifts itself off the ground, floating in the air.

“May the best one win, then,” Viktor says, and charges, the stick assaulting Yuuri’s, pushing against it.

Yuuri belatedly realizes that fighting an invisible ghost might not have been the best idea, but he’s too stubborn to back out. He digs his heels into the dirt, and then drops his stick. A cold breeze washes over him, as if Viktor has lost his balance and fell over. Yuuri ducks quickly, picks the stick up again, and points it vaguely at the ground. “Did I win?”

There’s a groan. “I’m afraid so. You’re clever and quick, Yuuri.”

Smirking, Yuuri breaks both of the sticks in half and throws them aside. Then he takes off the flower crown and lets it go above the place where the ground shimmers, just a tiny bit. It doesn’t fall, instead floats in the air, just like the lonely daisy did. “That may be true. Almost as clever and quick as you, _dear_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow is election day in the USA, and I am holding your hands from across the ocean, guys. VOTE and stay safe!  
> 


	5. V.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which there is a happy ending, after all.

“I think I may have an idea,” says Chris, on the second to last day of camp. They’ve been sitting on the stone steps to the river, watching the castle on the other side. They’ve visited it since that fateful night, but mostly only to spy on the realtor and the mayor, who have been taking photos and sketching plans all week. The businessman himself has yet to show up, and if Phichit’s questionable sources are correct, he’ll come tomorrow.

Viktor is barely visible, but he’s there. See-through, sitting in a pile of daisies again, making another flower crown. He seems to have taken to it in the last few days. Yura, who thinks flower crowns are lame, is instead trying to build a little house out of sticks nearby. (“It’s for the little dwarves, Yuuri,” he said matter-of-factly when asked about it. “If ghosts are real, why not dwarves?” And no one dared to argue with that.) Yuuri watches him with a mixture of exasperation and worry, then turns his head towards his other friends. The rest of the kids are in the water along with Yuuko and Takeshi, yelling and screaming as they attempt to drown one another. On the riverbank, Phichit has his sports jacket around his shoulders and is tapping furiously at his phone. Chris is next to him; previously playing the off-key rendition of _My heart will go on on_ his recorder. Now the recorder lies abandoned on the stone, and Chris has a look on his face that predicts trouble.

“What if there are no ghosts?” he declares, smirking.

Yuuri and Viktor lift an eyebrow simultaneously. “What do you mean?” asks the ghost, who is very much there.

“You know how we wanted to scare them, but instead they got even more excited?” Chris elaborates, his smile turning even sharper. “What if we just make them look incredibly stupid? What if there isn’t a ghost, just a bunch of kids in bedsheets?”

Phichit slowly lifts his face from his phone. “You’re a genius.”

“I try,” Chris mumbles, blushing. He watches Viktor, expecting an answer, but instead gets an armful of Phichit, who rushes up to kiss him. They tumble onto the stone and grass.

Yuuri laughs, shielding his eyes in mock embarrassment. “Was that your first kiss?” He asks loudly. Viktor watches the scene with amusement.

“It might have been,” comes the winded answer. “I didn’t know that intelligence gets me kissed, Phichit. I’ll try to do it more often in the future,” continues Chris, dusting himself off. Next to him, Phichit looks very satisfied with himself.

“It’s not the intelligence, _deer_. Otherwise, I would have kissed Yuuri. It’s the chaos. Yuuri has chaos too, but I like your very specific brand of chaos.”

“Okay, then. Thank you?”

“Phichit, are you saying you would kiss me?” asks Yuuri, who’s a bit overwhelmed. Phichit nods.

“I would, but I’m afraid that someone – or two someones, in fact, would get very jealous. And I don’t wish to spend the rest of my days as an elk, thank you very much,” he says smugly.

“Wait, what?” Yuuri’s brain catches up to the words a moment too late, before he turns violently and looks for Viktor, finding an empty daisy patch in his place. “Phichit, Viktor’s disappeared! You’ve embarrassed him!”

“I just stated the obvious,” his friend shrugs. He turns his face and kisses Chris again, just a peck on the lips. Yuuri sees an opportunity for revenge, and seizes it.

“Hey Mila!” He yells, catching the girl’s attention. “Chris and Phichit, sitting on a riverbank, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!” His voice echoes over the river, and in the next moment, half the kids are wading through the water back to the stairs, exclaiming variants of “I knew it!” and “You owe me two lollipops and three marshmallows!” When the couple stops smooching and lifts their heads to the chaos, then turns accusingly to him, Yuuri just straightens his glasses and winks. “Snitches get snitched,” he says, then stands up and leisurely walks away, laughing under his breath.

He goes to his cabin and starts slowly packing. Just the things he knows he won’t need today or tomorrow – which isn’t much, but at least there’ll be less clutter to sort through. Phichit and Chris usually leave packing for the last minute. (“The moment you start packing, you’re admitting camp is over! And I am not ready to admit that!”) Then they end up causing absolute havoc in the cabin, and Yuuri wants to avoid it as much as possible.

This time, though, he drags himself. He doesn’t want to go. Even though it feels as if they still have an eternity, in less than twenty-four hours they’ll all be already home, washing their dirty clothes and preparing for their last year of high school. Viktor will stay here, alone, with only books for his company. It makes Yuuri feel like a bad friend.

Anxiety hits him like a brick, the realization making him almost drop a pile of his dirty laundry. He _is_ a bad friend. Viktor is so lonely, and he’s been lonely for the last five hundred years. And now, when he has finally made some friends, those people leave him behind, like a toy they don’t want to play with anymore. Sure, they promised him help and company – but only for two weeks a year. That is what _terrible friends_ do. Even if whatever plan Chris has works out perfectly and the castle isn’t turned into a tourist attraction, Viktor will still have no friends and nowhere to go. And that _cannot stand._

Yuuri drops the clothes into his backpack, and then starts rummaging through the mess of papers at his table. After a moment, he pulls out a blue plastic folder with paper, envelopes, and stamps. He grabs a pen and all but runs out of the cabin, looking around for a floating daisy. “Viktor? Viktor, are you around?” He asks the air, seeing nothing.

His mind catches up to him, and he realizes that Viktor must probably be mad at him because of the implication that Phichit made. Yuuri slowly hunches over, ashamed of himself. He’s a bad friend who doesn’t even apologize, and instead goes shouting around, as if Viktor was always there.

But when he turns to go back into the cabin, there’s a daisy blooming right in front of him. “Yes, Yuuri?” says Viktor, appearing on the front steps.

“I’m sorry, Viktor,” Manages Yuuri. “I’m sorry for not shutting Phichit up faster. I’m sorry for not returning your castle to you. I’m sorry that I promised to help, and instead, I’m leaving.” He feels tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, but Viktor’s words make him look back up from the ground and into the prince’s eyes.

“Well, you’re forgiven.”

“What?”

“You say you’re sorry, and I forgive you. Even though I think there’s nothing to forgive.” Viktor is smiling, his mouth forming the shape of a heart. It looks really adorable. “Phichit was jesting, and I got a bit embarrassed. And you’ve brought life into my existence, didn’t we talk about this? You’ll be back next year. Didn’t Chris also say he has a plan on how to make that businessman’s life a circus?”

“Yes, I guess he does,” Yuuri’s brain is hard to reason with, but this time, he manages. “Thank you, Viktor.”

“Nothing to be thankful for, Yuuri.”

“I, uh, I said I’ll come back next summer, and I promise you that, but I think that a year is a bit too long for mortals to go without talking to one another.”

“Given your lifespan, that makes sense.”

“So, I dug this out. I don’t think that electronics would work with you, but a paper should. “ He offers Viktor the folder, who eyes it curiously. “It’s… It’s a few envelopes. And stamps. And paper. For writing letters. We could write letters, if you want,” He explains haltingly.

“Oh, that would be wonderful!” Viktor lights up, eyes sparkling. “I assume that the post, as I’ve read in one of the books, will deliver those?”

“Yes. I’ve written my address on one of the envelopes, so you can just write it down on the others. Once you’ve written the letter, you can put it into the envelope and glue it closed, then stick a stamp on. After that, you can put it in one of the post boxes. Either here in camp, or in Terenice.”

“Ah, so that’s what those orange things are!”

“Yes,” Yuuri smiles, suddenly happy.

“But wait, Yuuri. How are you going to send letters to me? I don’t really have an address…”

“Oh,” That might be a problem. “I mean. Castle Terenice is pretty straightforward, and the postal code is also easy. What’s your full name?”

“Viktor of Terenice.”

“That’s…not really a name, Viktor. You need to have a surname. Like I do. Katsuki.”

“Can I make one up?”

“I guess?”

Viktor puts his finger to his lips, thinking. “Well, Viktor means Winner, that’s what my parents always told me. In one of Phichit’s books, I read that it’s from the Roman goddess of victory. And the Romans apparently stole that goddess from the Greeks, who called her Nike. How about Viktor… Niker?”

“That sounds like a river,” Yuuri snorts, but an idea hits him and he pulls out his phone, looking up something on the internet.

“Nikir? Nikif? Nikifor? What are you doing, Yuuri?”

“I’m searching for common Russian surnames. You’re originally from Kiev Rus, right?”

“Yes, I think you call it Ukraine or Russia today.”

“Yeah. Here, I’ve got it. Slavic surname suffixes. ‘–ov’ means ‘descendant of’-“ He wants to continue, but he’s interrupted.

“Viktor Nikiforov, a descendant of Nike. That sounds majestic.”

“Winner McWinnerson, more like.”

“Hey, I like it!”

“Okay,” Yuuri writes it down. “Viktor Nikiforov, nice to meet you.” He extends his hand mockingly.

“Nice to meet you too, Yuuri Katsuki.” Viktor accepts the handshake with dignity, looking every bit the prince he is.

They both manage to hold a serious face for about three seconds, before dissolving into laughter. The time ticks by, but for a moment, it doesn’t bother them. It’s just the two of them, a boy and a ghost, laughing under the summer sky.

\--- 

As is the tradition, the last evening of camp means a night game for the kids – and since Chris and Phichit have busied themselves with their chaos of a plan, and Yuuko and Takeshi are helping with the clean-up, the responsibility of preparing and organizing it falls to Yuuri. He fetches the lanterns from the storage hut, loads them into a cart, and sets off into the forest.

The game is quite straightforward – the kids have to follow the lights through the forest, all the way to an old oak tree about a mile in. There they will find a stash of sweets, and then they can head back to camp, where a bonfire will be burning. There is only one catch – Phichit and Chris have always loved hiding somewhere around the path, and then jumping and scaring the passerby kids, especially the older ones, who like to boast about their bravery. Yuuri chuckles under his breath as he remembers the time that Emil ran back into the camp empty-handed, scared to death because he apparently found a corpse in the woods. It turned out to be Phichit, who was waiting for more people to scare and fell asleep in the middle of the trail.

Viktor keeps him company with the occasional joke or a daisy, and Yuuri gets the lanterns spread along the path pretty quickly, even managing to get the sweets into little decorative bags with name tags and putting them around the oak tree, before he has to head back for dinner.

Over the meal, Phichit explains to him their plan, but doesn’t give Yuuri any specific role in it. When Yuuri asks about it, his friend’s face spreads into a mischievous smile. “You’re Viktor’s moral support. And we need someone to stay at the castle and send us info.”

Yuuri begrudgingly nods, even if he despises not being useful. He guesses that he has to help out when he can, and he doesn’t despise being close to Viktor. This realization makes his ears redden, and Phichit grins at him knowingly.

“I’ve prepared the night game,” Yuuri says, to lead the topic away from his blush. “All you gotta do is sneak into the forest and cause some havoc. I’ll send the kids out once it’s dark enough.”

“Can’t wait. Even if I think that this year, hardly any kids will be scared.”

After dinner, Yuuri gets the kids busy with making camp shirts while Phichit and Chris disappear. (Yuuri tried to convince Viktor to participate too, but he declined, saying that the kids are no longer scared of him at all. As he said this, Sara was trying to braid his hair into a new style she found in one of her books.) The sky slowly turns red and then purple, until no one can see properly what they’re drawing on their shirt.

Everyone starts getting antsy, anticipating the game eagerly. Yuuri waits a moment more, then obliges them and leads the whole group to the edge of the forest, where the light of the first lantern can be seen in the distance. He fires off a quick text to Phichit and Chris, letting them know that ‘the show is starting’ and begins sending the kids out one by one.

Some go alone, eagerly setting off into the unknown, others absolutely refuse to take a step unless they’re with a friend (Guang Hong almost starts tearing up before Yuuri lets him hold Leo’s hand). Yuuko goes with the triplets, the three little menaces somehow the least scared of them all. Little Yura goes last, after convincing Yuuri that he’s big enough to go alone. Yuuri lets him, and then goes to tune his guitar and start the bonfire. Some yells are heard from the woods behind him, but he just grins and lets Chris and Phichit do what they do best.

Soon enough, the kids start showing up, sitting themselves around the fire, and triumphantly showing one another their bags of sweets. Some head to bed right after, some are herded off by Yuuko.

When Yuuri is just about to start worrying about him, Yura comes. And with him, Viktor, steps unheard, face translucent in the darkness.

Yura holds up his little bag as if it was a world cup: “I scared all the monsters and got the food!”

“You scared the monsters?” Yuuri stops strumming the guitar, flabbergasted. “How?”

“Viktor gave me advice,” says the boy proudly. “He told me that when someone jumps out and yells at me, I should yell back. To scare them. So I did.”

Yuuri can’t help himself, he starts laughing. He can’t wait to hear this story from Phichit and Chris’s perspective. “Good job, then. Now go brush your teeth and to bed, okay? I’m really proud of you.” He ruffles Yura’s hair, then, when the boy is out of earshot, he turns to Viktor. “You didn’t want to go scare the little kids, so you scared the big kids instead?”

“Just a little,” Viktor giggles. “And it wasn’t me, it was Yura. I just… gave him a bit of advice. And maybe a little bit of scary aura.”

“Just a teeny weeny bit, right dear?” Yuuri can't stop laughing.

“Yes, yes. Teeny weeny.”

When Phichit and Chris come back, previously busy with taking the lanterns down, they explain the story like a horror film.

“And I’m sitting here, waiting for Yura to come by, not even intending to scare him that much,” explains Phichit. “Suddenly, I feel really nervous, and I look out on the path. And there’s Yura, surrounded by a shit ton of weird glowing eyes, and he’s walking like it's no big deal. So I jump out, intending to warn him about these fuckin’ eyes – I was convinced it was a wolf or something – and he sees me and lets out a scream. But Yuuri, that was a scream to wake up the dead, holy shit. I felt my bones rattle. Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, nothing. Are you afraid of Yura now?”

“You bet I am!”

“Afraid he’ll turn you into a deer?”

“What? No, wait…” He looks over at Viktor. “This whole thing was your fault, wasn’t it,” he says accusingly.

Viktor is smiling like the sun. “Maybe.”

“Please don’t turn me into a deer.”

“Don’t worry. I just wanted to have a little bit of fun.”

Phichit pouts and curls into Chris’s side, but he and Viktor seem to leave the argument behind fairly quickly. It is, after all, the last night of camp. And even if Yuuri promises to write and stay in touch, they won’t get to be all together for a whole year. There’s no point in antagonizing one another. Maybe next year Viktor and Phichit will organize a full-blown prank war.

That would be entertaining, Yuuri thinks, as he plays songs and sings about things he knows and things he doesn’t. About love, about kissing until your lips are numb, about holding hands with someone dear as you face the future together, about coming home to a person who holds your heart. He looks at Viktor and wonders if the ghost wishes to be mortal.

\---

Morning finds them groggy and jittery at the same time, eating breakfast while discussing battle plans. Viktor and Minako seem to have a conversation, but Yuuri doesn’t dare listen in. Minako doesn’t look phased at Viktor’s flickering form, or at the abundance of daisies that sprout in the flowerpot nearby.

Yuuri, already packed, helps Yuuko and Takeshi with the last of the camp clean up. Afterward, he makes his way to the landing, pulls out a canoe, and sets off towards the castle. He doesn’t even take his book with him, wishing to be alone.

Well, alone with Viktor. That thought sounds peculiar, but the prince is someone Yuuri wishes to co-exist with. To be in the present with. They don’t have to talk, or do anything. Just being close to him is enough. It’s nice.

He sits on one of the rocks in the castle courtyard and exhales, letting the breeze ruffle his hair and blow the sleeves of his shirt around. Yuuri should be full of anxiety, but for some reason, he isn’t. It’s like the fear and the tears have passed over him, and he’s strangely numb, determined and defeated all at once. There is no point in worrying about the businessman now.

“What will you do when you go back home, Yuuri?” asks Viktor all of sudden, catching him off guard.

“I suppose I’ll have to attend school,” he answers, not truly understanding the question. However, Viktor’s reply sheds light on his confusion.

“You’ll have to make those decisions you’re afraid of, right?”

“Yeah, I will.” Yuuri thinks about those two textbooks, staring him down like the God of crossroads, asking him to choose.

“And you’ll have to deal with the consequences.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you still afraid as much as you were before?”

“I… I don’t think so?” Yuuri ponders, “This place always centers me, lets me understand who I am. I will choose, and I don’t know if I’ll get it right on the first time around. But I think that I should allow myself to make mistakes, sometimes.”

Viktor is quiet for a while, then says sadly: “Do you think I made a mistake, back then?”

“What do you mean?”

“By becoming a ghost, becoming immortal and stuck in time, instead of facing it. You know the words I wrote on that wall – _I will stay here until my true love finds me_ – but, what if my true love was the princess I was supposed to marry? Maybe it was her servant, or the castle cook, and I missed my chance by holding onto a romance of old tales…”

“I think the old tales aren’t always right, Viktor, but they’re also not always wrong. Even if you made a mistake, I think that staying in that time would have only made you miserable. You caused a lot of good things while being a ghost, don’t forget that - And besides, I don’t think there’s only _one_ true love waiting for everyone at the end of a rainbow.”

The prince giggles, the sound ringing through the courtyard. “I suppose I was being a bit melodramatic.” His tunic is blowing slightly in the breeze, and he’s so beautiful with his long silver hair and heart-shaped smile, and so smart and inquisitive and curious, but so _sad_ and lonely. Yuuri wants to see him giggle more, smile more, play more stupid pranks on Phichit, live, instead of wasting away haunting a castle.

“I don’t know much about love,” Yuuri’s ears redden, “But in my experience, it’s about being willing to work together, willing to learn, and keep learning about a person you hold dear. About looking into the future, and seeing yourself with them, and not being afraid of it.” He reaches into the grass and plucks a daisy, idly twirling it between his fingers.

“Looking into the future, huh,” Viktor says, and places his hand over Yuuri’s. His palm is cold but soft over Yuuri’s fingers, his touch feather-light yet grounding. “I would like to look into the future too. I’ve seen, I’ve learned so much with you, Yuuri. I want to keep learning, I want to keep living.”

Yuuri finally turns his head and stares into the wells of starlight that are Viktor’s eyes. Then he does what he has wanted to do for a solid week – reaches up and tucks the daisy he has been fiddling with behind Viktor’s ear.

He expects a kiss, or perhaps for a hand to start carding through his hair – but instead a sudden strong gust of wind pushes him back away from Viktor. Yuuri falls to the grass and scrambles for any kind of purchase to hold onto in the storm that comes out of nowhere and seems to be centered around the prince.

“Viktor!” He yells, alarmed. “What the _hell_ is going on!” He doubts Viktor can even hear him over the rushing of the wind, but he strains his vocal cords nevertheless. “Viktor!”

Viktor’s voice booms through the chaos. He sounds _happy_ . “I want to keep living! I don’t want to wait anymore, for anyone! I don’t know if you’re my true love, Yuuri, but I want to try! And I want to make mistakes, and move forward, and learn, and _live_!”

Yuuri isn’t sure what’s happening, but it’s clearly something positive, since Viktor is so delighted. Yuuri holds on to the grass and the daisies, crouched over behind remnants of a wall. He feels a _shift_ in reality, as if multiple things were changed at once, like when you wake up and you’re hit with the realization that you slept through all of your alarms. He’s more awake, eyes shining with tears from the unforgiving wind.

Suddenly, as fast as it began, the wind stops blowing and the storm ends. The grass goes back to stillness, and the trees are only lightly swaying in the breeze.

Yuuri straightens himself and adjusts his glasses, looking for Viktor – and when he sees him, his breath catches.

“Viktor!” he breathes out. Because Viktor is there, standing in the courtyard. But he’s – _mortal_. He isn’t see-through, and doesn’t flicker, or have that unnaturally pale skin. His hair is short, fringe falling gracefully over one eye, little daisy still tucked behind his ear. Instead of a tunic and loose pants, he wears a white T-shirt with blue stripes and comfortable looking jeans. But Yuuri only admires this new beauty for a second, before he’s dashing over the wall and enveloping the prince (or is he even a prince anymore?) in a hug.

They stay like that for a bit, quiet relief evident in their body language. Viktor clutches him to his chest like a lifeline, and Yuuri basks in the warmth that is radiating off of him.

“You’re so warm, Viktor. I’m so _happy_.” He manages, a bit incoherent from his joy.

“I’m happy too.”

Yuuri’s curiosity gets the better of him. “What the hell just happened?”

Viktor looks down at him, smiling brightly. “I decided to stop waiting for my true love. And so I’m here.”

“Alive,” Yuuri says, stupidly happy.

“Yeah.” He looks just so beautiful like this, grinning and warm. “Some other things might have happened too.”

“What do you mean?”

Viktor puts his finger to his lips. “I suspect you’ll find out soon enough.” Then he straightens, frowning. “Someone’s coming.”

They disentangle themselves from one another and try to inconspicuously sit on the wall. They keep holding hands, though, and Yuuri fires off a text to Chris, to let him know that the plan is underway. He leaves out the part about Viktor being human for now, because he wants to see the look on his friends' faces when they see it for themselves.

It only takes a few moments before he sees the cause of the noise. Three men are coming through the castle gate. Two of them are known to Yuuri already – the taller, polished realtor, with a folder under his elbow, and the stacky mayor, who looks as if he still can’t believe his luck. Along with them arrives a man who must be the dreaded businessman – dressed in a practical suit and walking boots that may look worn and useful but clearly must have cost a fortune.

The men arrive into the courtyard and make awkward eye contact with Yuuri and Viktor. The mayor’s eyes follow them a bit longer than necessary, but even he looks away after a prolonged moment. The realtor launches into an explanation about the ghost and the potential of it, sometimes asking the mayor for support. The businessman looks skeptical.

“So you’re saying that there’s a ghost in this castle, and that I should just believe you,” He grumbles.

“Yes! I saw it with my own two eyes. I know your plans for this place are for it to be turned into a tourist spot – and can you imagine how much of an attraction would it be with a real ghost? The scientist wouldn’t stop pouring in!”

“Show me the ghost and maybe then I’ll believe you. This sounds interesting, but I need to see the proof.”

“Sure! Of course!” the reality agent smiles maniacally. “If you’ll please follow me to the dungeon –“ He starts walking in the direction of the tower, but before he can take a second step, many things happen at once.

Firstly, There’s an enormously loud scream. (Yuuri and Viktor exchange glances and snicker). Phichit runs into the courtyard, carrying Yura on his shoulders. Yura keeps screaming bloody murder and Phichit collapses in front of the three bewildered men, croaking “The ghosts…are here! Run for your lives!”, before pretending to faint.

Then, a whole bunch of ghosts appears. Different shapes and sizes, all of them covered in bedsheets of various colors, making sounds that range from the last fathom of the opera aria to moaning that sounds vaguely suggestive.

“I…” Ooh’s the tallest bedsheet monster. “I am the Prince Viktor of Terenice, how dare you invade my castle!”

The other ghosts run circles around them, picking up Phichit, Yura, Yuuri, and Viktor along the way. Phichit does a double-take when he sees Viktor, but said now-mortal just winks and mouths ‘later’.

Yuuri watches the three men from the corner of his eye. The businessman checks his phone, lifts up an eyebrow, then slowly turns towards the other two. “So this is the ghost you were telling me about?” He asks, sounding furious. Both the realtor and the mayor give no response. “I – I don’t know what kind of sick game you are playing here, gentlemen. Do you think I am a fool?”

“No sir, of course not.”

“Then why would you try and convince me of such a lie, If not to drag money out of me? Say, Mr. Horak, how dare you lead me on and keep convincing me to buy a castle ruin in the middle of nowhere? Did the town of Terenice offer you a bribe in order to get rid of this place –“ The realtor keeps trying to cut in, but the businessman silences him with a wave of his hand. “I don’t even wish to know. I am not interested in this property anymore, not even the fields.” He starts walking resolutely across the courtyard and back towards the gate. “My assistant just sent me a new investment opportunity, one that seems much less backwater and isolated than this one. I will be terminating my contract with your reality agency, and severing all my ties with the town of Terenice.”

“But sir – you can’t just-“ starts the mayor, struggling to keep up. He throws a look full of poison at Yuuri and his friends, and when his eyes land on Viktor, they widen. But the businessman is striding away, out of earshot, and the mayor hurries to follow him.

“I can. Let this castle rot for all I care. Goodbye, and _so long_ ,” can be heard in the distance, along with the realtor’s and mayor’s feeble contra-arguments. 

It takes them a moment to register, before Chris (the tallest bedsheet ghost in enveloping them all in a hug.

“We won!” cries Phichit. “We won!” He takes a look at Viktor, his smile widening even more. “Are you - mortal?”

“I might have ceased waiting for my true love,” Viktor says, hugging Yuuri, who blushes furiously.

“Viktor’s a human!” screams Yura, tugging at Viktor’s jeans. “You aren’t as cool anymore.”

“I think I can _live_ with that.”

They hug again, and then they cheer and play ghosts around the castle, Yuuri taking the opportunity to tell all the kids about how proud of them he is. Emil and Mickey just nod and then run off to keep scaling some walls, while Georgi looks like he might cry. Guang Hong and Leo are inseparable, and the smaller boy is weaving flower crowns yet again. Mila decides to ask Viktor about sparring, while Sara and Minami play hide and seek with the triplets. Chris and Phichit are probably _actually making out_ somewhere this time, under a bedsheet and thinking they’re being sneaky.

Yuuri sits in the grass next to Yura, playing with the daisies that grow around them. He watches Viktor explain to Mila how to hold a sword, demonstrating on a stick. It makes him chuckle and blush, remembering their duel from yesterday. He thinks Viktor, being much more agile with a sword than Yuuri is, must have let him win on purpose. Yuuri doesn’t blame him.

“Love is a bit stupid,” declares Yura all of sudden.

“I agree,” Yuuri nods, smiling.

“But Viktor looks less sad now. So it’s probably worth the stupidity,” the boy continues, sprouting unexpected wisdom.

Yuuri can’t help but lean over and hug his friend. “You’re a treasure, Yura, do you know that? You might also be a menace sometimes, but a treasured menace.”

\--- 

“What were the other things that happened, that you mentioned before this, Viktor?” Yuuri asks, suddenly remembering. They’re walking down the hill from the castle to the river. The path is narrow, but they hold hands nevertheless. The rest of their friends have gone a bit ahead already.

“Oh,” Viktor smiles. “Since I was giving up all my magic, there was no point in holding anything back anymore. So I changed a few things. Just tiny bends of reality. The new investment offer for the businessman might have been my fault.”

“That’s smart.”

Viktor’s ears redden. “Thank you. There might also be a backpack in your cabin, where there are books about history, and an ID card for Viktor Nikiforov. In case you still want to send me letters.”

“That’s even smarter. You’re really clever, Viktor,” Yuuri says, stopping in his tracks. They're at the riverbank already, just one canoe waiting for them tied to a tree stump. On the other side, their friends wave at them, but Yuuri doesn’t notice them that much. He’s too busy getting lost in sky-blue eyes.

Ah, _damn it_ , he thinks. Then he leans on his tiptoes and presses his lips to Viktor’s. The kiss is just a soft contact, a moment frozen in time for the two of them.

When they part, Viktor’s eyes are shining even more. “Was that for my cleverness?”

“Part of it,” Yuuri looks down on his shoes, suddenly shy.

“And the other part?”

“I just wanted to,” he shrugs, and starts untying the boat, letting Viktor climb in first. He pushes off, sits down, and starts paddling, watching Viktor turn around in his seat and smile.

If this story was a fairytale, it would end with a magical wedding and two kingdoms joined in an alliance. To Viktor and Yuuri’s luck, it doesn’t end just yet. The summer breeze rustles their hair and clothes, the shadow of the trees on the river offering momentary refuge from the sun. They float on, laughing and stealing kisses, because they want to, and because the future is still bleak and unsure, but they’re a little less afraid of it now.

\---

_Just beyond the far horizon_

_lies a waiting world unknown_

_Like the dawn its beauty beckons_

_with a wonder all its own_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand cut! i hope you guys enjoyed reading this story as much as i enjoyed writing it. i am endlessly grateful to my friends aze, viluš, ari for reading this over for me and supporting me. also, a huge shout out to kaz's server. without that place, i would never have dared to write anything. 
> 
> if you liked this story, may i interest you in some wonderful victuuri fics by my friends, which contain similar tropes? 
> 
> [be still, my foolish heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23038975) by rae  
> [Stranger Things](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12519180) by xylo 
> 
> and with that, im signing off. thank you so much for your support. <3

**Author's Note:**

> See the arts on my [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/mandolinearts) or on [tumblr](https://mandolinearts.tumblr.com/)! Also [this is the playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4lRcJorD7r4qk7giihbOym?si=AIv4IOLORjaI3dwS4c6OvQ) that I created for this fic because I can't work without music on.
> 
> Please let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> edit: Kiev Rus would have long fallen by the 13th-15th century. please suspend your disbelief for this one.


End file.
